Legend of the last of us
by Stitch-Fan-3
Summary: My crossover of MLP x Kingdom hearts x The Last of Us, with twists of it's own. Rated T for strong language, action, and violence. First fanfic now completed!
1. List of main characters

**A/ N: Hey guys, Stitch-Fan-3 here with my first fanfic. This list will show who's who as the main characters in this story.**

Sora - Joel

Spike - Ellie

Scootaloo - Extra for Ellie

Fluttershy - Tess

Rarity - Henry

Sweetie Belle - Sam

Ushio - Sarah

Discord - Tommy

Celestia - Maria

Gilda - Marlene

Xehanort - David

Ienzo - James

Braig - Robert

Lea - Bill

Twilight Sparkle - Riley Abel

**That's my list. Let me know what you guys think of it. All characters and story go to the original owners. No copyright intended. (Did some editing on this, filling in any missing stuff).**


	2. Prologue: Hometown

**Hey guys, Stitch-Fan-3 here with my first chapter to my crossover. Hope you all enjoy.**

11:50 P.M.

A five-year-old girl was sleeping on the couch in her Texas home when her 14-year-old brother walked in chatting on the phone.

"Uncle. Auntie, listen. He is the contractor, alright? I don't want you guys to lose this job more than you do." The boy said.

"I understand. We'll talk about this when you guys get home, alright? See you guys when you get back." The boy hung up as his little sister woke up.

"Hey. Auntie and Uncle had another fun day at work by the sound of it?" She said, as she scooted over for her brother.

"What are you still doing up? It's late." He said.

"Oh, crud. What time is it?" The girl gasped. She saw the clock as it read 11:50 P.M. "Oh, good. It's still today." She sighed.

"Ushio, please. It's way past your bedtime." Her brother said.

Ushio pulled out a box with a bow and a card that read _"Happy birthday, Sora"_.

"What' this?" asked Sora.

"Your birthday." said Ushio.

Sora opened the box to show a brand ,new watch. Sora looked amazed.

"You kept complaining about your broken watch. So I figured... You like it?" Ushio said.

"Ushio, this is nice but-" Sora kept tapping at the watch as if something was wrong. "I think it's stuck."

"What?! No,no-" Ushio saw through her brother's joke. "Oh, ha, ha." She sarcastically said.

"Where'd you get the money for this?" Sora asked.

"Drugs. I sold hardcore drugs." Ushio said in a pretty good Texas accent.

"Oh, good. Then you can help our godparents pay their mortgage." Sora joked back.

"Yeah, you wish." Ushio said.

A minute later, little Ushio was sound asleep. Sora took her sister upstairs and tucked her into bed. "Goodnight, baby sis."

2:15 P.M.

The phone rang by Ushio's bed. She groggily woke up and answered. "Hello?" She said.

"Ushio!" That was her Aunt Celestia's voice. "Honey, Where's your brother?"

"Auntie Celestia? What's wrong?" The urgency in her aunt's voice woke Ushio up in an instant.

"I need to talk to your brother now-" The line was cut off.

"Auntie Celestia? Hello? What was that all about?" Ushio muttered as she hopped out of bed. She went out into the hall.

"Sora?" She called.

She walked into his room. "You in here?" She called.

Sora wasn't there and his T.V. was on. Ushio couldn't understand what the news anchor was saying, but there was a lot of screaming and yelling in the background.

"That's at the hospital, nearby." She said.

There was a loud boom outside and the screen went on the fritz. Ushio peered out to see a large explosion go off nearby. She was getting scared.

"Big brother?!" She called.

She ran down the stairs and saw police cars go by. She ran into the study and saw her brother run in through the sliding glass door. "There you are!" Ushio cried and hugged him.

"Ushio! Are you okay?" Sora asked in a panic as he went for the box in the drawer that held his uncle's emergency revolvers.

"Yeah." said Ushio.

"Don't go near the doors. Did anyone come through here?" said Sora.

"No. Sora, what's going on?" Ushio asked.

"It's the Pie family. Something ain't right with them, I think they're sick." said Sora.

"What kind of sick?" The banging at the door answered Ushio's question.

Sora grabbed Ushio to his side as the crazy pink pony girl broke through the glass with a crazed animal glare in her eyes.

"Pinkie! Pinkie, stay back!" Sora warned. "Pinkie, I am warning you! Don't!"

Pinkie charged. Sora shot one round and she was down. Sora pulled his little sister away from the bloody scene.

"Y-you shot Pinkie. I saw her this morning." Ushio said shakily.

"Ushio, listen." said Sora. "Something bad is going on. It's making everyone go crazy. We're gonna be fine, but we need to get out of here. Understand?"

Ushio nodded. Car lights shown in the windows.

"Auntie and Uncle, c'mon." The siblings burst out the door and into the arm's of their alicorn aunt.

"Are you kids okay?" Celestia asked.

"We're fine. Let's just get outta here." said Sora.

"Sora, there's blood on you." said their uncle of a draconequess.

"It ain't mine. Let's just go." Sora said as the family of four piled into the car and drove away.

"Minute ago, newsman wouldn't shut up." said Discord. "Said half the city lost their minds. Some kind of parasite or something. You gonna tell us what happened?"

"Later." said Sora.

"Hey, Ushio. How are ya, honey?" said Celestia.

"I'm fine. Can we listen to what's on the radio?" Ushio asked.

"Sure." said Discord, but no luck, only static. "No radio. No T.V. broadcast. Yeah we're doing great."

"Did they say which way to go?" asked Sora.

"They said army's put up road blocks on the main highway. No getting into Travis county."

"Then we'll take Route 71." Said Celestia. "Oh , Discord. How did this happen?"

"No clue," said Discord. "But we're not the only town. First they were saying it's just the south. Then the east coast, the west coast-"

Discord stopped with his mouth agape like the others at the burning site they drove by. "Holy cow! That's Applejack's farm. Hope she and her family made it out."

"I'm pretty sure they did." said Sora.

Sora felt the car slow down at the direction of a family of three. "What're you doing? Keep driving."

"They have a kid, Sora." said Celestia.

"So do we." said Sora. "Keep driving."

Discord sped up past the family.

"You guys ain't seen what I've seen." said Sora.

"We shoulda helped them." said Celestia.

"Hey, are we sick?" asked Ushio.

"No, of course not. They're just saying it's people in the city. We're fine." said Celestia.

"Didn't Pinkie work in the city?" asked Ushio.

"That's right, she did." said Sora.

They finally made it to Route 71, only to get caught in traffic.

"No. Looks like everyone and their mother had the same damn idea." said Discord.

"We could just backtrack and-" Sora stopped mid-sentence in horror as more sick people attacked the cars.

"Discord, get us outta here now!" screamed Celestia. Discord spun around and stepped on the gas.

"Look out!" Ushio's scream came too late as the car from the side plowed right into them.

...

Sora must've been out for a minute when he regained consciousness. He kicked the window open and crawled out. A sick guy came rushing up to him, only for Discord to knock him down with a heavy brick. Sora helped Ushio out.

"Sora, my leg hurts." said Ushio.

"How bad?" asked Sora.

"Real bad." Ushio said.

Sora handed his revolvers to Celestia and Discord. "Keep us safe." said Sora, and he picked up Ushio.

The family of four headed for the hills, only for every turn they made to get blocked, and Ushio just kept getting more scared.

"This way! Through the alley!" shouted Celestia.

The group ran down the alley and turned at the back of a restaurant. They hurrired inside,slamming and locking the back door, with sick people scratching at the door. Celestia and Discord had to hold the door back for the lock wouldn't be able to hold.

"Get to the highway!" said Celestia.

"What?" said Sora.

"Go! You got Ushio. We can outrun them." Celestia said.

"I'll meet you two there!" Sora shouted and went on ahead.

"Sora, we can't leave them." said Ushio.

"They're gonna be fine." said Sora.

The older brother ran all the way to the bridge with his little sister in tow, only to be stopped at gunpoint from a soldier with a gas mask.

"Stop right there!" He ordered.

"It's okay. We're not sick. My little sister needs help with her leg, though." Sora explained.

The soldier turned on his radio. "Got a couple of kids in the outer perimeter. One teenager, and one little girl. Please advise."

"Sora, what about Uncle Discord and Auntie Celestia?" asked Ushio.

"I'm gonna get you to safety and then I'll go back for them." said Sora.

"Sir, these are kids. But..." The soldier was given his orders. "Yes, sir." He aimed his gun. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, shit." Sora exclaimed. Sora turned to run, but the soldier fired and struck them down.

Sora only managed to get hit in the shoulder when the soldier rushed over to finish him, but Celestia blasted him in the head just in time to save Sora. Discord helped Sora to his feet when- "Oh no!" Celestia gasped.

"Ushio!" Sora rushed over to his sister, who squeaked in pain of being shot in the abdomen.

"Move your hands, sis. Move your hands." Sora said.

Ushio squealed even more.

"I know it hurts, sis. I know. I'm gonna pick you up alright? Your'e gonna be fine."

"Sora, I love you..." Ushio squeaked one last time, and she lay still.

Celestia gasped and just sobbed loudly into Discord's chest.

"Ushio! Come on, don't do this to me, baby sis. Don't do this to me, baby sister." Sora said, yet he too had realized his only sister was gone, just like his parents.

"No! Oh God. Please God, please don't do this! Please God. Oh God, please!" Sora sobbed.

...

Legend of the last of us

** Whew, finally done! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and just so you know, the MLP characters are anthropomorphics. Ushio belongs from the anime Clannad, Sora is from Kingdom Hearts, and the rest of the main characters are from MLP including Pinkie Pie. (Just so everyone knows, I am NOT a brony. Not that there's anything wrong with it, of course). No copyright intended. All rights go to original owners. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. (Some more editing again to make it neater.)**


	3. Chapter 1: The quarantine zone

**Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter. Enjoy.**

Ever since that day, panic and paranoia had spread all over the news and radio broadcasts over the years of the disaster called "The Cordyceps Brain Infection".

_"The number of confirmed deaths has passed over two hundred. The governor has called a state of emergency-" _

_ "There were hundreds and hundreds of bodies lying in the streets."_

_ "A report from the World Health Organization has shown that the latest vaccination tests have failed."_

_ "With the bureaucrats out of power, we can finally take the necessary steps to-"_

_ "Los Angeles is now the latest city to be placed under martial law."_

_ "Riots have continued for a third executive day, and winter rations are at an all time low."_

_ "A group calling themselves the Fireflies have claimed responsibility for both attacks."_

_ "Their call demands the return for all branches of government."_

_ "Cries of outrage have broken out over the execution of six more alleged Fireflies."_

_ "You can still rise with us. Remember, when your'e lost in the darkness, look for the light. Believe in the Fireflies."_

_20 years later..._

Summer: Boston QZ

There was a knock at Sora's door. He woke up after another bad dream. The knocking continued as he crawled out of bed and paced to the door.

"I'm coming." said Sora.

He opened the door to find his pegasus pony friend and smuggling partner, Fluttershy, wearing her usual hippie attire. Behind her was her 12-year-old adopted daughter, a pegasus filly named Scootaloo, wearing her gray hoody and short skirt attire.

"Oh, hey Flutters. Hey, Scoots." said Sora, ruffling Scootaloo's hair.

"How was your morning?" asked Fluttershy. She poured a glass of wine. "Want one?" she offered to Sora.

"No, I don't want one." said Sora. "Where were you girls at this morning?"

"West end district." said Scootaloo.

"We had a drop to make." said Fluttershy.

" 'We' had a drop to make." Sora referred to all three in the room.

"Well, you wanted to be left alone, remember?" said Scootaloo.

" So, let me guess." said Sora. "The whole deal went south, and the client made off with all of our pills. Is that right?"

"Deal went off without a hitch." said Fluttershy. She held up a large stack of green cards. "Enough ration cards to last us a couple months."

Sora noticed a bruise on Fluttershy's cheek. "Want to explain that?" Sora pointed.

"On our way here these two asses jumped out of nowhere, but I took care of them." said Fluttershy.

"Did you find out who they were at least?" asked Sora.

"They don't matter. What matters is that Braig sent them." said Fluttershy. "He knows we're onto him."

"That son of a bitch is smart." spat Sora.

"Not smart enough. We know where he's hiding." said Scootaloo.

"Like hell, you do." said Sora.

"Old warehouse in area 5. Can't say for how long though." said Scootaloo.

"Yeah? Well, I'm ready now." said Sora.

"Oh, I can do now." grinned Fluttershy, as the trio exited the apartment and out into the street.

"Checkpoint's still open." said Fluttershy.

"We only got a few hours until curfew. Let's go wrap this up." said Sora.

It was just another day in Boston, the ration line was closed for the moment, and people had been put in a line to be scanned for infection, with the infected getting executed at the end of the interrogation.

"Ration line is closed. They running low again, Mom?" asked Scootaloo.

"Yep, and it seems more people are getting more infected. That just means more people are sneaking out." said Fluttershy.

The trio arrived at the checkpoint and flashed their ID's to the guard.

"What's your'e business here?" asked the guard.

"Got the day off. Visiting a friend." said Sora.

"Alright. Go on through." said the guard.

BOOM!

Smoke went up in the air and gunshots rang out at the scene. "Get outta here. Quick!" the guard yelled. "Fireflies!"

Sora and the girls ran and took cover at a nearby building. "Damn Fireflies." said Sora. "So much for the easy route."

"We'll just have to take the north tunnel then." said Fluttershy.

"Wait, go outside the wall?" asked Sora.

"That, or we could just let Braig go." said Fluttershy.

They made their way down into the basement and grabbed their gear. Their backpacks, their clip-on flashlights, their gas masks, Sora's shotgun, Fluttershy's compound bow, and Scootaloo's revolver pistol. They climbed a ladder on their right, and stepped out onto a spot outside the wall.

"Man, I never get tired of the smell of the outside. A lot better than the smell of the city." said Scootaloo.

"Well, next time, you can ask Lea for some air fresheners." said Fluttershy.

"Yeah, if they weren't expired." said Scootaloo.

The trio worked their way into an abandoned building where the tunnel back into the city was located. They ended up in the rough neck of the neighborhood as their were thugs having wrestling matches, shops selling junk and dogs for a low price, and people in made-shift tents. Fluttershy flashed a few ration cards as bribe to the guy named Demy guarding a gate leading to the warehouse.

"We're looking for Braig, he come through here?" asked Fluttershy.

"Half an hour ago. He's still there now." said Demy as he took the cards and let the group pass.

"Who was that kook?" asked Sora.

"An old headache. Don't ask." said Fluttershy.

The group were stopped in their tracks by three thugs.

"You guys need to turn around and head back if you know what's good for you." said the lead thug.

"Our beef isn't with you. We just want Braig." said Fluttershy.

"Turn the fuck around and leave now." said the thug.

"We're not going anywhere without Braig." Fluttershy said, making her notorious stern look.

"Bitch, I will bash your skull if you don't turn and leave now." said the thug.

"No one talks to my mom like that." Scootaloo said, and shot the thug square in the head.

The other two thugs took cover. Sora's group took over too as the thugs fired their rounds. Sora and Fluttershy made quick work of them.

"Nice shooting, Texas." Scootaloo said to Sora.

"Thanks." said Sora.

"How did Braig get all these guys?" said Fluttershy.

"If he's good at one thing, it's writing blank checks." said Sora.

"Well, let's go put an end to that." said Fluttershy.

From a ledge, the trio found their target.

"There's our boy." Fluttershy pointed to Braig, the guy with the eye-patch, talking to one of his guys. "That cocky son of a bitch. Let's go wrap this up."

The trio's years of practicing excellently stealth was paying off, taking out Braig's guys one by one, until they reached his office. Sora opened the door, then quickly took cover as Braig opened fire at the trio hiding behind the walls.

"We just wanna talk, Braig." shouted Sora.

"We got nothing to fucking talk about!" shouted Braig, as he fired his gun empty and made a run for it.

"Catch him!" shouted Sora.

The trio was hot on Braig's heels, zigzagging through the halls, out a first floor open window, and towards a dead end alleyway.

"Well, hello Braig." said Fluttershy.

"Sora. Flutters. Scoots. No hard feelings, right?" asked Braig, nervously.

"None at all." said Fluttershy as she whacked Braig down with a crowbar.

"Dammit!" shouted Braig.

Sora pinned Braig's arm down.

"Stop, Stop, Stop!" Braig pleaded.

"You mind telling us where our guns are?" asked Sora.

"I sold them." said Braig.

"What?" asked Sora.

Sora snapped Braig's arm as he screamed in pain.

"I didn't have a choice. I owed someone." pleaded Braig.

"You owed us. I say you betted on the wrong horse." said Fluttershy.

"Look, I can get 'em back. Just give me a week." said Braig.

"You know, we might've done that if you hadn't tried to kill us. Now, who has our guns?" said Fluttershy.

"It's the Fireflies. I owed the Fireflies." said Braig.

"Excuse me?" said Fluttershy.

"Look, they're basically screwed, so we go in there, finish them off and get the guns." said Braig. "C'mon. Fuck those Fireflies."

"That is a stupid idea." Sora said as he shot Braig down.

"Well, now what?" asked Scootaloo.

"We go get our merchandise back. I don't how, but we'll figure something out." said Sora.

"Well then, let's go find a Firefly." said Fluttershy.

"You won't have to look very far." The trio turned to see a female gryphon wearing a blue tank top and a 9mm pistol in her hand.

"Well, there you go. Gilda, 'Queen Firefly'." said Sora.

"Why are you here?" asked Gilda.

"Business. We could ask you the same thing. You don't look so good." Fluttershy said, noticing a wound on Gilda's side.

"Where's Braig?" asked Gilda.

The trio revealed Braig's body.

"I needed him alive." said Gilda.

"The guns he gave were meant for us. We want them back." said Sora.

"It doesn't work like that, Sora." said Gilda.

"The hell it doesn't." retorted Sora.

"I paid for those guns. You want them back, you're gonna have to earn them." said Gilda.

"How many cards are we talking?" asked Sora.

"I don't give a damn about ration cards." said Gilda. "I need something smuggled out of the city. You do that, I'll give you your guns back, then some."

"How do we know you have them?" asked Fluttershy. "The way I heard it, the military's been wiping you guys out."

"You're right about that." said Gilda.

The four could hear the voices of soldiers coming close from a distance.

"I gotta move. What's it gonna be?" asked Gilda.

The trio nodded. "I wanna see those guns." said Fluttershy.

They took off just as the military arrived on the scene.

**That's all for this chapter today. Just so everyone knows where I got the title to this fanfic, I combined it with the titles of "The Last of Us" and the movie that became an inspiration for the game, "I am Legend". Since the MLP characters are anthropomorphics, I gave a brief description as to what their attire would look in my own version of a "Last of Us" fanfic, while Sora wears his "Kingdom Hearts 2" attire in this story. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. Please Comment. Thank you. (More editing to anything I overlooked.)**


	4. Chapter 2: The outskirts

**Hey guys, I got another chapter for you. By the way, in my last chapter, Demy is an OC name I used for Demyx's human form from Kingdom Hearts 2, and the attire for Braig was the organization coat. Just answering any questions anyone might have in these author's notes. Please comment. Enjoy!**

The group finally made it to the restaurant where Gilda told them the "something" they needed to smuggle was. Stepping inside, Gilda fell on one knee in pain from her wound.

"Woah, easy." Sora exclaimed, helping her up.

"Get the fuck away from her!" someone shouted.

Sora turned to see Fluttershy holding back a dragon kid wearing a purple vest and shorts, and holding a switchblade.

"Let him go." said Gilda.

Fluttershy let go of the dragon's arm, as he lowered his knife.

"What's your problem, man? We were only helping her." said Scootaloo.

"Your'e recruiting kind of young, aren't you?" Sora asked Gilda.

"He's not one of mine." said Gilda.

"Oh, shit." the dragon noticed Gilda's wound.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I brought us help." said Gilda. "Guys, this is Spike. Spike, this is Sora, Fluttershy, and her daughter, Scootaloo. I can't go with you to the drop-off, so they'll take care of you."

"Wait," said Sora. "We're smuggling him?"

"There's a group of Fireflies that will wait for you at the capitol building. You drop him, come back, the weapons are yours." said Gilda. "Double what Braig sold me."

"That building's not that close." said Fluttershy.

"You're capable." said Gilda.

"Speaking of the guns, where are they?" asked Fluttershy.

"Back at our camp." said Gilda.

"We're not smuggling shit, until I see them." said Fluttershy.

"You'll follow me. You can verify the weapons, and I can get patched up. But, he's not crossing that part of town." Gilda pointed to Spike.

"Then that leaves me and Sora to watch out for him." said Scootaloo.

"Bullshit. I'm not going with him." Spike pointed to Sora.

"Spike. No more arguing. Just go with them. You'll be fine." said Gilda.

"How do you know them?" asked Spike.

"I was close with his godparents. They said if I was ever in a jam, I could rely on him." said Gilda.

"Was that before or after they left your little militia group?" Sora asked with sarcasm.

"You left them too. They were good people." said Gilda.

"Yeah, and that's why they left your group, because they were smart to avoid the needless violence." Sora retorted.

"Look, just take the kids to the west tunnel, and I'll meet you there." said Fluttershy.

"Don't take very long." said Sora. He turned to Spike. "And you, stay close."

Sora and the kids then took off.

"So, sorry about the whole knife thing." Spike said as the group kept walking.

"It's okay. I probably would've done the same thing." said Scootaloo. "So, how do you know Gilda?"

"She's my friend. I guess." said Spike.

"Your'e friends with the Firefly leader? What are you, like twelve?" asked Sora.

"She knew my parents. She's been looking out for me, and I'm thirteen. Not that has to do with anything." said Spike.

"So, instead of staying in school, you run off to join the Fireflies, huh?" asked Sora.

"Look, I'm not supposed to tell you why you're smuggling me, if that's what you're getting at." said Spike.

"Well, that's what I like about my job. I could care less about what I'm smuggling." said Sora.

"Okay, good." said Spike.

They finally made it to the apartment where the tunnel was, and Sora slumped onto the couch.

"What're doing?" asked Spike.

"Killing time." said Sora, closing his eyes for a nap.

"Well, what're we supposed to do?" asked Spike.

"I am sure you will figure that out." said Sora.

"C'mon, Spike. I know what we can do." said Scootaloo, and she pulled out a stack a cards onto the nearby table.

Spike turned back to notice something off with Sora before joining Scootaloo.

"Your watch is broken." Spike told Sora.

...

It was nightfall. Sora awoke with a slight startle.

"You mumble in your sleep." said Spike, as he kept his focus on the game with Scootaloo. "I hate bad dreams."

"Yeah, me too." Sora grumbled and picked himself off the couch.

"Y'know, Scoots. This is the closest I've been to the outside." Spike pointed to the window. "It can't be any worse out there, than in here. Can it?"

"Well..." Scootaloo was interrupted by the sound of her mom coming in.

"Hey. Sorry, I'm late. Soldiers are fucking everywhere." said Fluttershy.

"How's Gilda?" asked Spike.

"She'll be fine." Fluttershy said. She turned to Sora. "Ready to do this?"

"Yep." said Sora.

The group went to their secret lift, and pushed down for the tunnel.

"So, who's waiting for us at the drop-off?" Sora asked Fluttershy.

"Gilda said it was a group of Fireflies that came from another city. Boy must be important." said Fluttershy.

"What is the deal with you, Spike? You some bigwig's son or something?" Scootaloo asked, sarcastically.

"Something like that." said Spike.

The lift stopped, and the group moved through the tunnel, climbed the ladder at the other end, and out into the open next to the wall.

"Oh, shit. I'm actually outside." said Spike, excitingly.

"Yeah, it is cool." said Scootaloo.

Sora led the group through a cargo truck box, when suddenly-

Whack!

A soldier knocked down Sora with the butt of her gun.

"Don't do anything stupid." she warned the others at gunpoint.

The group were down on their knees with their hands on their heads.

"You scan them. I'll call it in." The soldier told her partner. "This is Ramirez, at sector twelve. Requesting pick-up for four stragglers. Copy back." she spoke into her radio.

The male soldier scanned Fluttershy.

"Look the other way. We can make this worth your while." said Fluttershy.

"Shut up." ordered the soldier.

He scanned Sora. "I'm tired of this crap." said the soldier.

He scanned Scootaloo. "When's back-up gonna get here?" The soldier asked Ramirez.

"Couple minutes." She said.

The male soldier scanned Spike.

Spike stabbed the soldier's leg with his knife. Sora tackled the soldier, and made him shoot himself with his own gun. Fluttershy shot Ramirez with her bow when her focus on the guys.

"Oh, fuck. I thought we were just gonna hold him captive or something." said Spike.

Scootaloo saw something wrong with the scanner and picked it up. "Uh, Mom?" she said, nervously.

Fluttershy looked at the scanner. Her eyes bulged. "Sora, look at this." she said, tossing him the scanner.

INFECTED

"Oh, shit." said Sora. "Gilda set us up?" He turned to Spike. "Why are we smuggling an infected dragon?"

Spike quickly spoke, "I'm NOT infected!"

"No? So, what? Was this lying?" Sora asked angrily, and threw down the scanner.

"I can explain." said Spike.

"You better explain fast." Fluttershy said with her stare look.

Spike pulled away the collar of his vest to show an old bite mark between the neck and shoulder. "See this? It's three weeks old." said Spike.

"No, everyone knows infected turn in two days or a few hours when inhaling spores. Stop lying." said Scootaloo.

"It's three weeks old, Scoots. I swear." Spike insisted. "Gilda does know about this. It was her plan. Why would she set you up? You think she would've blown my brains out by now?"

Sora and the girls looked at each other. That did make some sense, but they didn't have enough time to ponder on it as an army tank came coming their way.

"Oh, shit. Guys, run. Run!" Sora shouted.

"GO!" Fluttershy shouted, and the four jumped down into a ditch.

...

The soldiers hopped out of truck and checked on their fallen comrades.

"Oh,shit." One of them turned on their radio. "We got a couple of men down. Requesting to locate the stragglers. Over."

Little did they know, the group was right underneath them, crawling through the sewers, and emerging out into the former business district of the ruined city, about a mile away from where the soldiers were.

"I think we lost them." said Sora.

"So, if you're not infected Spike, you can't get others infected?" asked Scootaloo.

"I bit a couple of Fireflies in defense when I turned to Gilda for help, and a few days, nothing. So, yeah." said Spike.

"Okay, what was the plan?" asked Fluttershy. "Say we bring you to the Fireflies, then what?"

"Gilda said they have their own little quarantine zone with doctors there, still trying to find a cure." said Spike. "She said whatever happened to me was the key to finding a vaccine."

"Yeah, we've heard that one before, huh, ladies?" Sora said, sarcastically.

"It's what she said." said Spike.

"Yeah, right." said Sora, disbelieving.

"Hey, fuck you, man. I didn't ask for this." said Spike.

"Neither did I." said Sora.

"Flutters, what the hell are we doing here?" asked Sora.

"What if it's true?" said Fluttershy. "I mean, the wound does look pretty old. I've seen worse bites. Look, we're almost done. Let's just finish it."

"Do I need to remind you what is out there?" Sora pointed to the ruins.

"I get it." Fluttershy said.

The group continued on.

"There's the capitol building." Sora pointed out. It was right behind a large office building.

"We cut across here, we can make it there by morning." said Fluttershy. The group headed inside, and worked there way up to find a way through.

"So, how did you get bitten if you've never been out the zone?" Scootaloo asked Spike.

"I was in the mall when it happened." said Spike.

"That place is off limits." said Scootaloo.

"Yeah, I kinda snuck in." said Spike. "I ran into one of those, you call them 'Runners', and that was that."

"Then, you went to Gilda for help?" asked Scootaloo.

"Yeah, a week later. She almost could've shot me, but after I told her what happened, she believed me, and that's how I ended up with you guys."

"Wait, hold up." Sora said. There was this loud clicking sound. "Clicker. Hide!"

The group took cover behind a table, as this infected with fungus growing all over it's face barged in.

Fluttershy threw a bottle from behind the table to the clicker's right to distract it. It's focus somewhere else, Sora snuck up behind and stabbed it with a knife.

"Oh, man. What was with that thing?" asked Spike.

"That's what years of infection will do to you." said Fluttershy.

"Clickers can't see with fungus covering their face, so they rely on hearing."

"Like bats?" asked Spike. "Like bats." said Fluttershy.

The group started working their way down.

"So, I was thinking, when we get back, we take it easy for a while." said Fluttershy.

"You wanna take it easy?" asked Sora.

"Well, your'e always going on about laying low for a while." said Fluttershy.

"Hold up. Clickers, up ahead." warned Sora.

The group took cover as several clickers gathered around together right where the ladder was that would lead outside.

"Hang on, I got something I've been saving for something like this." Sora grinned. He pulled out a made-shift molotov from his pack and threw it, setting the clickers ablaze.

"Man, you're good at this." said Spike.

"It's called luck, and it is gonna run out, eventually." said Sora.

The group climbed up, and made it back outside over the wall.

"Alright, one more building to cut across, and then it's the home stretch from there." said Sora.

The group approached an abandoned museum. There was a garage door with a chain. Sora pulled on the chain to get the door open.

"Wait, what was that?" Fluttershy asked. It sounded like infected. "Sora, double time!" said Fluttershy.

"Oh, shit!" said Sora, and started pulling the chain faster.

Spike and the girls crawled through. Fluttershy held the door open on the opposite side as Sora crawled through. A runner was just about to grab Sora's foot, when Fluttershy slammed the door. The infected pounded at the door like rabid animals, to no avail.

"Um, you got something on your shoe." Spike told Sora. Sora kicked away the runner's severed arm, without a scratch, luckily.

The group worked their way up to the roof of the museum, and crossed a plank onto another roof. Spike stared at the sunrise.

"Well, is that everything you hoped for?" asked Sora.

"Jury's still out, but you can't deny that view, though." said Spike. The group climbed down a ladder, and began the last leg to the capitol building.

The building, however, was surrounded by water.

"Um, just so it's out there, I can't swim." said Spike.

"Well, that makes two of us." said Scootaloo.

"It looks like it goes up to the hips. Follow my lead." said Fluttershy. Across the water, the group climbed up the stairs, and into the building.

"No. No,no,no,no." Spike gasped. On the floor were deceased Fireflies from a possible previous infected attack.

"Now, what?" asked Scootaloo.

"Kid, what are you doing?" Sora asked Spike.

"Maybe, they uh... had a map or something that told us where they were going." Spike exclaimed, searching through the bodies for a clue.

"Gilda never told you where the lab was?" asked Sora.

"No, she only mentioned it was someplace out west." Spike sighed.

"We're not really gonna go west, are we?" Sora asked Fluttershy.

"Well, what are we supposed to do? Take him back? Then, what?" asked Fluttershy. "This kid's been on his own, just like Scootaloo was before I found her. I don't want to see another kid go something like that again, Sora."

"How far are we gonna take this?" asked Sora.

"As far as it needs to go. This is our chance to fix this Sora, and if we don't, we'll just be ending up being shitty people, like we always have." said Fluttershy.

"No, we are survivors, and it is over, Flutters! We tried. Let's just go home." said Sora.

Outside, the group saw the military caught up to them in their tank. "We know your'e in there!" warned a soldier. "Drop your weapons, and come out with your hands up."

Oh, shit. They're here." said Fluttershy.

"This is crazy." Sora muttered. "Come on." The group burst out through the back door and down the nearby subway station. The tank was at the entrance as the group rushed down the steps.

"There they are. Shoot 'em!" ordered a soldier.

The group evaded the shots.

"Wait, slow down. Spores up ahead." Sora warned.

Mutant mushrooms were growing off the walls up ahead, spraying a toxic spray into the subway. The group threw on their gas masks. More soldiers were already in the subway, and the group took cover. Sora and the girls noticed that Spike was the only one without a gas mask and breathing just fine.

"How are you breathing in this stuff?" asked Scootaloo.

"I wasn't lying to you." said Spike. Sora and Fluttershy turned back to the soldiers and took them down in the cover of the dark. The group headed back up the other end of the subway, and into fresh air again. They took off their gas masks, and stopped to catch their breath.

"Hey, look. Um, I'm sorry about all this trouble, guys. I didn't mean for any of this." Spike apologized.

"It doesn't matter. I doubt we could get back into the city in one piece, and with the military onto us." said Sora. "If we're gonna do this, here's how it's gonna be played out. I appreciate it if we just keep our histories to ourselves. Don't tell anyone of your 'condition'. They might think your'e crazy or try to kill you. Lastly, you and Scoots do what me and Flutters say, when we say it. Repeat it if we're clear."

"What you and Fluttershy say, goes." Spike agreed.

"So, where to now?" asked Scootaloo.

"We head over to Lea's place. Good chance he could get us a car. Come on." said Sora.

The group marched onward. It was see you later, Boston. Hello Lincoln.

**Whew! That's all for this chapter. I decided already not to kill off Fluttershy like with Tess in the video game, because in my fanfic, I gonna make it so there's a "Main six" in my story, which will include Rarity and Sweetie belle. Hope you all enjoyed it. Please comment. Thanks. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. (More editing on this chapter.)**


	5. Chapter 3: Lea's town

**Hey guys, another chapter for you. Just to let you guys know, if this fanfic lacks any battle scene details, it's because I'm not very good with coming up most battle scene ideas, for that, I apologize. I will however, try to make any boss battle scenes like the scene with David in the video game more descriptive. So, let's get started. Also, Lea will be in the same attire as he is in the video game, "Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep" prequel game. Please comment. Thanks!**

"Well, we're here." Sora pointed to the sign that read:

WELCOME TO LINCOLN

The group walked off the highway and took the shortcut through the woods.

"Man, this is the first time I've ever walked through the woods. So cool." said Spike.

"Hey, look Spike. Fireflies. Real ones." Scootaloo pointed out to the lightning bugs that flew by.

The group hopped over the fence that led into the city. Sora spotted smoke coming from the interior of the town.

"Is that you, Lea?" Sora asked himself.

"Where do you guys usually meet him?" asked Spike.

"Different places." said Sora.

"You've never been here before, have you?" Spike asked, non-suprisingly.

"Well, we know this is where he lives, but no, not really." said Sora.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a clicker showed up and started stalking towards them, when-

BOOM!

The clicker blew up into a million pieces!

"Holy moly. What the hell was that?" gasped Spike.

"That would be one of Lea's traps." said Sora, as he examined the light string attached to a car door and to a blown-up made-shift bomb on another car door.

"Your friend a bit paranoid, maybe?" asked Spike.

"Now, that's putting it mildly." giggled Scootaloo.

"What is with this guy, anyway?" asked Spike.

"He knows where to find stuff, and he helps us smuggle that stuff into the city." said Scootaloo.

"Lea's a nice guy, he just needs time warming up to you, that's all." said Fluttershy. "He doesn't take too kindly to strangers."

"Now, while we're there, you kids let me and Flutters do the talking, okay?" said Sora.

"Gotcha." said Spike.

"Hey, look at this." Scootaloo pointed to a road-side sign. " 'Mandatory evacuation'. Evacuate to where?" asked Scootaloo.

"Where do you think? Quarantine zone." said Sora. "Some places got a heads up before the infection. Most didn't. Then, the military bombed the infected area to clear out any Spores or infected. It worked, for a while."

"Must be tough, leaving all your stuff behind like that." said Scootaloo.

"That's not the hard part." Sora said, solemnly.

"So, say we get a car from Lea, then what?" asked Spike.

"Then we go find my Uncle Discord and Aunt Celestia." said Sora.

"Gilda said their your godparents?" asked Spike.

"More importantly, they were Fireflies. They know where to take you. They live far from here, which is why we need the car." said Sora.

Sora opened the door to cut through a garage, when-

WHOOSH!

"OH, SHIT!" Sora shouted. His leg got snared in a leg trap, and he started dangling a foot from the ground!

"Sora, are you okay?!" said Fluttershy.

"What was that?" said Spike.

"Gotta be another one of Lea's stupid traps." said Sora. "There! That fridge looks like the counterweight. Cut the rope, and it'll bring me down."

"On it." said Spike. He pulled out his switchblade, and started sawing through the rope. "Guys, infected!" Spike cried out.

"We got this, Spike. Just focus on the rope." Fluttershy said, pulling out her bow.

Runners started swarming into the garage. Sora and the girls took aim at the closest one they could get, but for everyone they took down, one more showed up.

"Come on, You sons of bitches!" Sora cried out, blowing up one runner by the next, and seemed to be enjoying it if he wasn't upside down.

"Okay, got it!" Spike yelled.

The rope snapped free, and Sora fell onto the ground.

"Sora, watch out!" cried Spike. A runner ran up to Sora, and tried to bite him down on the floor when-

SLICE!

The runner's head got chopped off by a red-haired guy wearing a gas mask with his large sword.

"Get off your ass, and on your feet." he told Sora. It was Lea.

He helped Sora up, and the group followed him out of the garage as more infected swarmed in. They ran into a diner, as Lea slammed the back door tight just as a clicker chased them in.

"Man, that was close." said Spike.

Lea took off his gas mask, and faced the kids.

"Uh, thanks. I'm Spike." Spike offered his hand to shake, but instead got handcuffs tied to him and Scootaloo behind an iron bar.

"Hey! What're you- Guys!" Scootaloo yelled, as she and Spike tugged on the rusty bar.

"Lea!" said Sora. "What're you-"

"Turn around, and get on your knees." Lea warned at gunpoint.

"Now, just take it easy." said Fluttershy. Lea elbowed the two to the ground.

"I said on your fucking knees!" Lea ordered.

Lea checked Sora and Fluttershy, thoroughly. "You got any bites? Anything sprouting? Hah?! Hah?!" asked Lea.

"No, we're clean. Damn it!" said Sora.

"Well, if I see so much as one twitch,"

SNAP!

Lea turned to see the kids broke the bar free, and Spike smacked him in the arm with it. Spike swung again, but Sora stopped him and made him drop the bar.

"Son of a bitch!" Lea shouted.

"Are you done?" asked Sora.

"Am I done?!" asked Lea. "You come into MY house! You set off MY traps!" Lea turned to face Spike. "You damn nearly break my shooting arm! Who the fuck is this new kid, and what's he doing here?"

"He is none of your damn business!" defended Scootaloo.

"We're here because you said one time you owed Sora a favor."

"Well, you can start by taking this fucking thing off us!" Spike held up the cuffs on him and Scootaloo.

"Easy, kids." said Fluttershy. "Lea, could you please?" Lea tossed Fluttershy a key, and she un-cuffed the kids.

"I said I owed Sora a favor. Is this some joke?" retorted Lea, as he sharpened his sword.

"I'll cut to the chase, Lea. We need a car." said Sora.

Lea guffawed. "So, it is a joke. Well, Sora needs a car. Well, if I had a car, which I don't, what makes you think I give it to you? Sure, Sora. Take my car. Take all of my food too, while you're at it."

"By the looks of it, you could probably lose some of that food." smirked Spike.

Lea pointed his sword. "Now, you listen to me, you little shit." warned Lea.

"No, fuck you! You handcuffed us!" yelled Spike.

"Hey, what'd I say about leaving the talking to me?" said Sora.

"I'm not gonna take that." said Spike.

"I understand. I understand." Sora said, assuringly.

"Whatever favors you think I owe you, aren't worth that much." said Lea.

"Actually, Lea, they are." said Sora.

"Well, it don't matter, because I don't have one that works." said Lea.

"But, you know where to find one in this town." said Sora.

"Parts. I know where to find parts in this town." said Lea.

"Meaning you could fix one up." said Sora.

Lea thought for a moment, then pulled out a map and said, "Alright, if I'm gonna do this, there's some gear I'm gonna need. It's on the other side of town. Now you guys help me go get it and maybe, MAYBE, I could put something together that runs. But after that, I owe you nothing."

"Fine." said Sora.

"Alright," said Lea. "Whole damn town's booby-trapped. Best stay right on my ass."

"Can't miss it." smirked Spike.

"Spike, please." said Sora.

"Whatever supplies you may want or need, I suggest you grab them." Lea said.

As the group took anything they might need for later, Spike and Scootaloo noticed a chess board on one of the diner tables.

"You ever played chess before, Scoots?" asked Spike.

"Yeah, but I'm terrible at it." said Scootaloo.

"Hey! Bobby Fischer! Don't touch anything on that board!" said Lea.

"Who?" asked Scootaloo. Spike shrugged.

"Man, you guys weren't kidding about him." Spike said to Fluttershy.

"Yeah, he's one of a kind." she said.

A scream came from down the hall. "Wait. That sounds like a runner." said Fluttershy.

"Relax. That one caught in one of my traps earlier. I've been meaning to take care of it." said Lea. He approached the pinned down runner and chopped it's head off. "Y'know, as bad as these things are, at least they're predictable." he said. "It's the normal people that scare me."

The group walked out into the town and towards the church. "Down here." said Lea. "The basement's my other safe house. More of an armory. All the tools and extra supplies we may need are down there."

The group stepped down into the basement. "Sora, close the door behind you." said Lea, then turned to the kids. "You two, don't touch anything." Lea lit a lantern. "Alright, let's gear up." he said.

"Stay here with Scoots, Spike." said Sora.

"Don't I need a gun, too?" asked Spike.

"No, you don't. You got your knife." said Sora.

"Sora, I can handle a gun just fine." said Spike.

"I said no." said Sora, then he went to join the other adults.

"Don't worry, Spike. I'll let you borrow my gun if you need it." Scootaloo winked at Spike. Spike winked back.

"This goes on as the worst job you've ever taken." Lea said to Sora, as he grabbed ammo and tools.

"Yeah, it's up there." said Sora.

"Seriously though, you gotta take that kid back to where you found him." said Lea.

"Lea, we can't just take him back." said Fluttershy.

"Then send him packing. Let him find his own way." said Lea.

"What, and just leave him all alone, like most people are? I don't think so." said Fluttershy.

"Y'know, Flutters. Let me tell you a story." said Lea. "Once upon a time, I had someone I cared about. It was a partner. Somebody I had to look after, and in this world, that shit's good for one thing and one thing only: Getting you killed. So, you know what I did? I had a fucking epiphany. Realized it just had to be about me."

"Lea, it's not like that." said Sora.

"Bullshit. It is just like that." said Lea. "HEY!" he shouted once he saw what the kids were doing. "What'd I say when coming down here?"

"We're just fixing your stupid pile." said Spike.

"Don't touch!" yelled Lea.

Spike jabbed him 'the finger'.

"Damn it. Y'know Sora, you keep babysitting, it's gonna blow up in your face." said Lea.

"Lea, can we please just get on with it?" asked Sora.

"Fine. Let's get on with it." said Lea. "Oh, but first. Here." Lea gave Sora a made-shift bomb like the one he had on his string trap.

"What's this?" asked Sora.

"Nail bomb. New toy from the toy box. You throw it, and it shreds anything standing next to it." said Lea.

"Now, let's go. Kids, I swear to God, if you took anything,"

"Hey, man. We don't need any of your shit. Okay?" said Spike.

"Sora. You and Flutters are keeping an eye on them, right?" asked Lea.

"Like hawks." said Sora, as the group walked out of the church.

"So, we got tools and bombs. What's the plan, though?" asked Fluttershy.

"Well," said Lea. "Every month, this military caravan comes through looking for supplies. You be amazed at the shit they overlook. One of the trucks gets attacked by a horde of infected, and it crashes right into the high school. Still sitting there with the battery in it."

"So, we take that battery, and put it in another car?" asked Sora.

"Bingo." said Lea. "I thought about getting it, but then I thought against it with all the infected crawling through that area, but fuck it. Sora needs a car."

"What if it's damaged?" asked Sora.

"Nah. That truck's like an army tank. It's just sitting there." said Lea.

"Actually might work." said Sora.

The group trekked for a couple blocks until they made it to the high school. "There's the truck." Lea pointed to the vehicle sticking out of the corner of the wall. "Come on."

The group hurried to the truck, and tried to get the window open to get inside.

"Guys, infected!" warned Fluttershy.

"We got this! You guys just get that window open!" shouted Sora.

Sora and Lea blasted infected left and right. "Should've just left them back there, Lea." Lea muttered to himself as he kept firing. "You keep doing this kind of shit, It'll come back to bite you."

"Guys, we got it open! Hurry!" said Fluttershy.

The group jumped inside and slammed the window as clickers scratched at the window. The infected started to get through a barricaded door. Sora, Spike, and the girls held back the shelf that covered the door.

"Lea, hurry up!" shouted Sora.

Lea popped open the trunk to find- "It's empty!" said Lea.

"What?!" said Sora.

"It's fucking empty!" shouted Lea.

"Lea, where to now?" asked Sora.

"Anywhere but here!" shouted Lea.

The group ran down the hallways. "Our only way out is through the gym!" said Lea.

The group burst through the gym, only to be confronted by the most biggest, and most fungus-covered infected ever.

"What is that thing?!" screamed Scootaloo.

"Damn Bloater! Take cover!" shouted Lea.

The bloater started chucking spore bombs at the group, but they don't infect people, just temporarily stuns them. The group's shots hardly had any effect.

"Nothing's working!" shouted Fluttershy.

"Wait! The nail bomb!" yelled Sora. He threw the bomb, and the bloater blew into a million pieces.

The group wasted no time in running out of the school after their bloater encounter.

"What was with that big guy?" Spike asked as they ran.

"That was a bloater. They're the most dangerous when infected for a long time." said Sora.

The group hopped over a fence, into a neighbor's yard, and rushed into the house, slamming the sliding-glass door. The group caught their breath.

"Well, that could've been better." said Scootaloo, sarcastically.

"Come on, Scoots. Let's go check out this part of the house." Spike pointed to the garage.

" 'Kay." said Scootaloo, and the kids left the adults to their dilemma.

"Lea?" demanded Sora.

"Look, someone had the same idea, and they stole my shit." said Lea.

"Well, then what the hell is plan B?" asked Sora.

"You should be glad you're still drawing breath!" said Lea. "That was plan A, B, C, all the way to fucking Z! Furthermore-"

Fluttershy screamed and covered her mouth in horror. The boys turned to see a blue-haired corpse, wearing a blue shirt with a crescent moon symbol, hanging by a rope around the neck. Lea's eyes bulged bigger than Fluttershy's.

"What, you know this guy or something?" asked Sora.

"Isa." Lea said.

"Who the hell is Isa?" asked Sora.

"He was my partner." said Lea. Sora looked dumbfounded.

"He's the only idiot who would a shirt like that." said Lea. He chopped the rope so Isa's body fell free to the floor. "He's got bites." Lea pointed to Isa's arms. "Here, and..."

"I guess he didn't want to turn, so he..." said Sora.

"Yeah, guess not. Well, fuck him." Lea said. He tried not to show it, but he was choking up a bit.

Lea's moment was interrupted by the sound of a car starting up. The adults went to the garage to see the kids in the front seats starting up a pick-up truck.

"Look what we found. It's still got some juice in it." Spike said from the driver's seat. Lea checked out the open hood.

"That's my battery." Lea said, piecing it together. "That fucking asshole."

Lea slammed the hood. "Out." he told the kids. The kids got out so Lea could test the truck. "Well, the battery's kaput, but the cells are still alive." said Lea.

"Meaning?" asked Sora.

"Meaning, we push it, get it going, and the alternator will recharge the battery." said Lea.

"Is that your guess?" asked Sora.

"Look, you wanted a plan B, this is as good as it gets." said Lea.

"What do you think?" Spike asked Sora.

"Thinking you kids drive, and we push." said Sora.

Lea looked over a corner to find more food and supplies Lea thought he lost once. "That's more of my stuff. Is that it, Isa? Just run off and take my stuff too?" Lea said to himself.

"You kids got this?" Sora asked Spike and Scootaloo.

"I read all about driving. I won't let you down with this." said Spike.

"Just so you know, you're doing a good job with this." said Sora.

Fluttershy smiled at him. She looked over to see a note sitting on a table. It was from Isa. It read:

_"Well Lea, I doubt you ever found this note considering you were too scared to come into this part of town. But, if for some reason you did, I want you to know that I hated your guts. I grew tired of this shitty town and your attitude. I wanted more than this in life and you could never get that. By the way, the battery you always kept mumbling about, I got it. You were right though, leaving this town would end up getting me killed, but it beats spending another day with you."_

_Good luck,_

_Isa_

Fluttershy handed Lea the note. "Lea, I uh, I found this over there and I thought you should have it." said Fluttershy.

Lea read the note. "So, that's how you feel. Well, fuck you too, Isa. Fucking idiot." Lea said, choking up again and crumpling up the note. He tossed it away. "You guys ready to go?" asked Lea. The group nodded.

Lea opened the garage, then joined Sora and Fluttershy at the back of the truck. "Okay, when we get to pushing, keep your foot on the pedal." Lea said to Spike. "Then pop the clutch to-"

"I know how to pop a clutch." said Spike.

"How the hell do you-? You know what, forget it. Just don't screw it up." said Lea.

The adults pushed the truck out of the garage and let go. Spike started up the truck, and turned to the right, getting the truck to move a tiny bit. "Hey, good job kid." said Lea.

"Alright, Spike. Get ready. We're gonna try again." said Sora. The adults pushed the car up the hill, then let go as Spike started it up again, going downhill, and the car sparked to life.

"Hear that sound, guys?" Sora smiled.

"Yeah, that means the infected hear it too. Get in the truck." said Lea.

A swarm of infected came rushing out as the adults hopped into the trunk, and Spike stepped on the gas, speeding away from the infected. As soon as they were out of sight, Lea panted, "You guys really fucked my day up, you know that?"

They drove all the way to the outskirts of town. "This'll do." said Lea.

The adults hopped out of the car. "Keep'er running, okay?" said Sora. Spike gave a thumbs up.

"Those kids almost got us killed." said Lea.

"You gotta admit, they held their own back there." said Sora. Lea chuckled.

"You guys aren't gonna last long. Oh, before I forget," Lea opened his pack and tossed Sora a siphoning hose.

"What's this for?" asked Sora.

"You be surprised at how many cars still have gas in them." said Lea.

"Appreciate it." said Sora.

"Say, Lea. About your friend back there, sorry about what happened to him." said Fluttershy.

"We square?" asked Lea.

"We're square." said Sora.

"Then get the fuck out of my town." said Lea. He picked up his pack and headed home.

Sora, Fluttershy, and the kids drove away from Lincoln as storm clouds came in.

**Whew, that's all for this chapter. Next one will feature the newest members of the 'Main six' in this fanfic, Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Please comment. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. Thanks. (More editing on this chapter.)**


	6. Chapter 4: Pittsburgh

**Hey guys, I got another chapter for you all. I own nothing in this story. All rights go to original owners. Enjoy.**

It was raining on the highway as the pick-up truck rolled by. Sora was at the wheel, Fluttershy was napping at the passenger's seat, and the kids were looking at the stuff they got in Lincoln.

"Aw, man." said Spike.

"Hey, what happened to sleeping?" said Sora.

Spike pulled out a comic titled 'Star Trek.' "Okay, I know this doesn't look it, but this here is not a bad read." he said. "Except there's one problem. Look, 'To be continued...'. I hate cliffhangers."

"Where'd you get that?" asked Sora.

"Uh, back at Lea's. I mean, all that stuff was just lying there." said Spike.

Sora sighed. "What else did you guys get?" he said.

"Here." Scootaloo grinned, handing Sora a tape with country music. "This make you feel all nostalgic?"

"Y'know, this is before my time." said Sora, as he put it in the radio player.

The song 'I won't get out of this world alive' by Hank Williams started playing. "Oh, man. That is a winner, though." grinned Sora.

"Well, it's better than nothing." said Scootaloo.

"Y'know, it's not all that bad." said Spike. "Oh, I'm sure you're friend will be missing this, tonight." Spike gave a mischievous grin as he pulled out a play-boy magazine for him and a play-girl magazine for Scootaloo.

"Uh, guys. Those aren't for kids." said Sora.

"Hold your horses, Sora. No offense, Scoots." said Spike.

"None taken." said Scootaloo. "Hey, why are all these pages stuck together?"

"Um..." Sora stuttered, nervously.

"We're just messing with you." Spike giggled. The kids threw the magazines out the window.

"Bye-bye, dudes." said Scootaloo.

"Why don't you kids get some rest? It's gonna be a long drive." said Sora.

"We're not even tired." said Spike. The truck zoomed past a sign that read:

PITTSBURGH

242 MILES

The kids were asleep by the time they got into Pittsburgh, and the song 'Alone and Forsaken' by Hank Williams was playing.

"Oh, shit." said Sora. He slowed the car to a stop as the road was blocked by wrecked cars.

Fluttershy yawned, "Now what?"

Sora looked to the back, then looked to the right at the turn point. "Screw it." said Sora.

He turned the truck to the right and down into the center of the city. Sora stopped when he saw a wounded diamond dog crying out for help.

"Aren't we gonna help him?" said Scootaloo.

"Put your seat belts on, kids." ordered Sora.

"What about the guy?" said Spike.

"He's not even hurt." Sora said, sternly.

Sora sped up. The diamond dog knew he saw through his ruse. He pulled out his pistol and started firing,but it that got him nowhere and just rammed by the truck. Other diamond dogs started swarming the truck, as they threw bricks at the truck, and even pushed an SUV into their path!

"Oh, not good!" Scootaloo panicked as Sora turned out of the way, yet the tail of the truck got smashed, causing Sora to spin out of control.

"Hold on!" Sora cried, as the last thing he remembered was the truck plowing right through a garage door.

...

The truck was in a heap. The group moaned, regaining consciousness.

"Everyone okay?" said Sora.

"Yeah." Fluttershy and the kids responded.

"Alright, we gotta get out of here." Sora said, unstrapping his seatbelt. The group hastened to get their seat belts off, when a female diamond dog grabbed Fluttershy and Scootaloo.

"Girls!" Sora and Spike grabbed onto the girl's legs.

"Let us go, you chicken shit!" screamed Scootaloo. A male diamond dog grabbed Sora and Spike. The dogs pulled the group out of the truck. "Sora! Spike!" screamed Fluttershy.

The male dog slammed Sora into a window fridge, and was about to kill Sora with the glass, when-

BANG!

A bullet blown through the dog's head. Sora and Spike struggled free to see their rescuer was a white female unicorn wearing a blue-patterned, buttoned shirt and a jean-skirt with a 9mm pistol.

The female dog lost her focus on the girls to see the scene that played out in front of her, too late to notice she got stabbed in the back of the head with an arrow.

The girls struggled free to see who helped them was a 12-year-old white female unicorn wearing a striped shirt, a gray short-sleeve jacket, and an orange skirt carrying a composite bow on her pack. "Man, I stabbed the hell out of that girl, didn't I?" she said, looking surprisingly nauseous.

"Watch out!" the older unicorn cried. The group took cover as other diamond dogs shot their rounds. The unicorns made excellent work of finishing off their attackers.

"I think that's all of them." said the older unicorn. "You guys okay?"

"Thanks for the heroics." said Spike, as the group took their backpacks from the wrecked truck.

Sora was a little suspicious, despite the rescue, and wanted to play it safe by asking, "How do we know you girls aren't with another group of scavengers, like they were?"

"We're not, because if you haven't noticed, they don't keep kids around in this town." said the older unicorn. "Survival of the fittest and all that. I'm Rarity, and this is my little sister, Sweetie Belle. I caught your name was Sora?"

"I'm Fluttershy. This is my daughter, Scootaloo, and this is Spike." Fluttershy finished the introductions for them.

"Are there more in your group?" Sora asked.

"They're all dead." said Sweetie Belle.

"Sweetie, we don't know that yet." said Rarity, then turned to face the group. "They're were more of us. One of us had the fancy idea to enter the city, and look for supplies. Then those fuckers ambushed us, scattered us. Now, it's all about getting out of this shit hole."

"Sora, let's them tag along. We might have a good chance out getting out of here if there's safety in numbers." said Fluttershy. Sora was about to argue, but then thought against it.

"She's right. We can help each other. We have a hide out that's a little ways from here, but it's close to our exit, that is the bridge." said Rarity. "Be safer if we plan our next move there."

"Alright, take us there." said Sora.

The group headed outside and cautiously roamed down the streets, towards the west where the bridge was that Rarity mentioned.

"Sora, how did you know about the ambush earlier?" asked Fluttershy.

"I've been on both sides." Sora quietly said, so Rarity wouldn't have to hear.

Fluttershy just nodded. She knew why, it must've been a terrible decision back then, but it was survival of the fittest, and in the years that she knew Sora, she knew a hunter wouldn't treat anybody with the least bit of kindness that he had shown Fluttershy when they first met.

"So, Spike. Where you and Scootaloo from?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Boston. Where you and your sister from?" asked Spike.

"All the way from Hartford." said Sweetie Belle.

"Really?" said Scootaloo. "I hear some gnarly stuff's been happening down there."

"I imagine it looks just like this by now." said Rarity.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of what could've been a military turret charging their way.

"Quick! Hide in there!" Rarity pointed to an abandoned toy store where the group took cover.

Behind the shelves, they saw a couple run for their lives, only to be taken down by what was a military turret. Two diamond dogs, one male and one female, checked the bodies.

"No food. Old pair of shoes." said the female.

"Nothing here, let's just go, babe." said the male. The dogs took off back on the turret down the road.

"Where did they get that?" Spike said in a terrified awe.

"Probably from the military that once patrolled here." said Rarity. "That fucking truck's been hounding us ever since we got in this damn-"

Rarity stopped to see what her little sister was doing. "Sweetie, what are you doing?" she asked. Sweetie Belle was looking at a plush Stitch toy from disney's 'Lilo and Stitch'.

"Nothing." she said.

"Get rid of that. You don't need that." said Rarity.

"But my backpack is practically empty. It doesn't weigh much." said Sweetie Belle.

"What's the rule we agreed about taking stuff?" said Rarity.

Sweetie Belle sighed, "We only take what we have to." She dropped the toy, and the group moved back outside.

Spike stopped and picked up the toy. He would give it to Sweetie Belle later.

"I think we can cut across this hotel." said Rarity. The group walked in, and admired the ruins.

"Man, you and Fluttershy stayed at a place like this, Sora?" said Rarity. "I remember coming to a hotel like this with my parents before it all went to shit, that is."

"No, this place is too rich for our blood." Sora smirked.

"Oh, hey. Here's another poster." Sweetie Belle bent down at a movie poster on the floor for the disney movie 'Frozen'. "I keep finding these pictures all over the city."

"Oh, I remember seeing this when it was first released, just before the infection broke out a year later." said Sora.

"What's it about?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Oh, just another 'Disney Princess' type movie." said Sora.

"Who dragged you to see it then?" asked Spike.

Sora looked solemn. "I don't know." he said. The last time he saw a movie like this was when- well, he didn't want to think about it.

The group ascended up the second floor. "Hey, I think we can cut through here." Sora pointed to an open, empty elevator shaft. There was a plank and a ladder inside, the elevator car was damaged at the bottom.

The group carefully crossed and climbed one at a time, sidled across the small space, and hopped onto the remaining elevator car that wobbled when the group landed cautiously.

The adults helped the kids up into the open doorway, but the elevator car was starting to fall under the weight!

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle barely made it on, and Rarity grabbed onto the ledge in time, but Sora and the others weren't fast enough as the car broke and fell into the water submerged floor!

Sora, Spike, and Fluttershy screamed the way down, but landed safely in the water. Sora and Fluttershy helped Spike stay afloat.

"Guys! Are you okay?!" Scootaloo called from safely up the ledge.

"Yeah, we're fine. You okay?" Sora called.

"No! You scared the shit out of me." called Scootaloo.

"Hang on, we're coming down to get you!" Rarity called.

"But sis, I can't swim." said Sweetie Belle.

"Then, that makes three of us." said Scootaloo.

"Don't worry. We'll make our way up to you, and meet outside." called Sora.

"Just don't do anything stupid." called Scootaloo.

"We'll try." said Sora.

Rarity and the girls took off, as Sora's group worked their way to shallow water and towards the nearby stairwell, when suddenly, a male diamond dog jumped out and grabbed Sora and Fluttershy!

The dog tried to drown them in the water, but Spike grabbed the dog's gun and shot him square in the head.

Sora and Fluttershy emerged gasping for breath and turned to see Spike shaking as he dropped the gun.

"Oh, man. I feel sick." Spike said, dropping to his knees.

"Thanks for the rescue, though, Spike. We would of drowned." said Fluttershy, comforting the shaky dragon.

"You guys okay?" Spike said, quickly recovering. Fluttershy nodded.

Sora just blurted, "I'm just glad I didn't get my head blown off by a damn kid."

"Okay, you know what? No!" said Spike. "How about 'Hey Spike. I know it wasn't easy, but it was him or me and Fluttershy. Thanks for saving our asses.'. You got anything like that for me, Sora?"

Sora just said, "Let's just get out of here."

"Lead the way." Spike said, disappointingly.

Fluttershy just said nothing.

The trio worked their way upstairs, and onto a scaffolding, where a misplaced hunter's rifle was lying on the planks, and where they got a bird's eye view of the diamond dogs gathered around the square.

"Alright, I'll go see if I can clear us a path, and Spike," Sora handed the rifle to Spike. "You and Flutters cover me." Spike and Fluttershy were speechless.

"Now, you seem to know your way around a gun. Think you can handle this?" asked Sora.

"Well, I sorta shot a rifle before. But it was at rats. With BB's." said Spike.

"Well, it's the same basic concept, but this kicks a hell of a lot more than any BB rifle." said Sora. "Pull the bolt back to reload, and you're gonna want to get a round in there quick. Now, if I get in trouble down there, you make every shot count. Got it?"

"I got this." said Spike.

Before climbing down the scaffolding, Sora turned and said, "Just so we're clear about back there Spike, it was either him or me and Fluttershy." He climbed down the ladder.

Spike and Fluttershy smiled. "Your welcome." said Spike.

Sora stayed behind a small bit of concrete construction wall as he blasted the diamond dogs with his shotgun. Spike and Fluttershy took great aim with their weapons, and the tough scavengers never knew what hit them.

"Good job, Kiddo." Sora grinned to himself. "Okay, come on down." he called.

Spike and Fluttershy climbed down to join Sora.

"Guys!" Sora turned and saw Rarity and the girls rush up to them out of the hotel, and Scootaloo hugged Fluttershy, while Sweetie Belle hugged Spike.

"How'd I do?" Spike asked Sora, handing him the rifle. Sora gently pushed it back to him.

"I think you've earned this." he said. Spike just smiled, and strapped the gun to his pack.

"I won't let you down with this, either." he said, glad to see the older man trust him a little more.

The group arrived at an office building where Rarity said their hideout was.

"We're here." she said. The hideout was on the second floor in the executive officer's room. "Welcome to my office." said Rarity.

"So, this is where you guys have been holed up?" asked Scootaloo.

"Yep. It's been a few days, but we found a whole stack of food." said Sweetie Belle.

"Blueberries. Found a whole stash of them." Rarity said to Sora and Fluttershy. "Want some?"

"I'm good." said Sora.

"Relax, darling. We're safe." Rarity said.

"So, what's the plan?" said Fluttershy. Rarity led them to a window and partly pulled the shades. There were diamond dogs guarding the gate that was part of the quarantine zone the city used to be.

"Look at those sons of bitches." said Rarity. "Everyday, they congregate down there, guarding that damn bridge. Come nightfall, it's down to a skeleton crew. Few of them there, we take them out, that's our window."

"Sounds like it'll work." said Sora.

"Oh, it'll work, alright." said Rarity.

The adults turned to see the kids playing a game of tossing the blueberries, and trying to catch them in their mouths, only to land on their noses, resulting in giggles.

"Been a while since that girl cracked a smile." Rarity grinned at Sweetie Belle. "Your kids don't seem bothered by any of this."

"Well, they're a lot tougher than most people think." said Fluttershy.

"So, where were you and your sister headed?" asked Sora.

The adults sat down as Rarity explained. "We heard the Fireflies were stationed somewhere out west. We planned on joining them." she said.

Sora chuckled. "Funny?" asked Rarity.

"Just seems a lot of people are putting their stock on the Fireflies these days." Sora grinned.

"Well, maybe there's a reason to it." said Rarity.

"So, you don't know where they are, and you're just gonna drag her cross country to find them?" said Sora.

Rarity leaned in, defensively. "I'll tell you what. I worry about my sister, and you worry about your kids."

"Easy. We're looking for the Fireflies, too." said Sora.

Rarity relaxed, and pulled out a map. "Here's us." Rarity pointed to a spot on the map, then pointed up at a spot on top of the map. "This here's an abandoned military radio station. Any survivors from our group are supposed to meet us there tomorrow. You two and your kids want to join us, it goes down tonight."

"Then we better get some rest, then." Sora suggested.

...

Night had fallen. Scootaloo woke Sora up from his nap. "She says it's time to go." she said. Sora hopped up from the couch.

"Now, we're gonna be moving fast, and no matter what," Rarity told Sweetie Belle. "You stick to me, like glue."

"Like glue, got it." said Sweetie Belle.

"Alright then, everyone ready?" Rarity said to the group.

"Guess we'll find out." said Sora.

The group moved down to the street, and behind the cars where the searchlight was.

"I got this." Spike loaded his rifle, and shot the bulb out on the searchlight.

The diamond dogs scattered, as the group took them out one by one in the cover of the darkness.

They weren't out of trouble yet, when came the sound of the turret heading their way. The group busted the gate opened, and shut it tight with the bars. Their path, however, was covered by another locked gate, and a truck with half a broken ladder attached to it covering the left side of the gate's wall.

"Ladies first." Sora said, and gave Rarity a boost. Then, Fluttershy. Then, Scootaloo. When Sora boosted up Sweetie Belle, the ladder started to break, but Rarity caught her sister as the ladder broke apart.

"They locked the gate!" A diamond dog shouted from the other side of the door. "Ram it open!"

"Look, just go! I got Spike. We'll catch up." called Sora.

"No! We can't leave you, guys." shouted Fluttershy.

"We'll be alright. Just get going!" Sora called back.

The girls took off, as the boys worked to get a garage door open. They crawled through and slammed the door shut, just in time as the turret burst through the gate and opened fire.

Sora and Spike cut through the garage and out onto the other side of the blockade, but the girls were already gone, probably at the other side of the bridge by now.

The turret rammed through the truck like it was nothing, and the boys ran across the bridge. Their trail ended as a chunk of the bridge was already gone.

"Spike, how many bullets you have?" said Sora.

"They're gonna kill us!" said Spike.

"What other choice do we have?" said Sora.

"We jump." said Spike.

"No, it's too high, and you can't swim." said Sora.

"You'll keep me afloat." said Spike. The turret was already gaining on them. "No time to argue." Spike said, and he jumped.

"Spike! Damn it!" Sora shouted, and jumped in too.

The boys landed in the water, but were quickly carried down the current.

"Sora!" cried Spike.

"I got you!" Sora cried, and held onto Spike. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" The last thing either Sora or Spike remembered was slamming into a rock.

**That's all for this chapter, next one will be the last one for the summer part of this fanfic. I replaced Star Trek with the comic in the game 'Savage Starlight' and the 'Stitch' toy with the toy robot Ellie gave Sam in the game to make it a little more realistic. I do not own anything in this fanfic. No copyright intended for anything in this fanfic. All rights go to original owners. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. Please comment. Thanks. (More editing on this chapter.)**


	7. Chapter 5: The suburbs

**Hey guys, another chapter here, and this one will be the last chapter of the summer part of the story. I own nothing. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended. Please comment. Thanks.**

Sora groaned, and opened his eyelids as he was surrounded by the faces of equine humanoids. Sora sat up with a startle. Spike was already waking up himself.

"Hey, you. You boys are gonna be okay." said Scootaloo.

"Boys, what were you thinking? You know you can't swim, Spike." said Fluttershy.

"Well, It was the only option we had left." said Spike.

"Your'e lucky we spotted you. Just no more crazy stunts, like that again, next time?" asked Rarity.

"We'll try." said Spike, standing up.

"Alright, now that radio tower is on the other side, and it'll be full of supplies. Let's move." said Rarity.

Sora stood up, and saw they were on a beach, just directly on the outskirts of the city. "Alright, let's see if we can find a way around this." Sora pointed to the cliffs. The group walked along the beach.

"Hey, check this out." Scootaloo pointed to a beached tugboat. The group hopped aboard, and looked around, collecting supplies.

"First time being on a boat. Even though it's out of water." said Scootaloo. "Did people own a lot of boats back then?"

"Oh, yeah. I owned a sixty foot yacht." said Sora.

"Really?" said Scootaloo.

"No." Sora joked.

"Y'know, I think this is the first time I've seen you use sarcasm." Spike grinned.

The group got off the boat, and continued down the beach.

"Hey, I think this goes somewhere." Sora pointed to a pipe with a grate.

"Looks like it goes all the way through." said Fluttershy, looking inside.

"Girls, give me a hand with this." Sora said. The adults lifted the heavy grate. "Alright, kids. Go on through." said Sora.

The kids crawled through the grate. The girls crawled through next, and held the bars on the other end for Sora to crawl through, then closed the grate.

"Alright, everybody. Turn on your flashlights." said Sora. The group switched on their flashlights and narrowly trekked down into the sewers.

"Not really a big fan of this place." said Rarity.

"None of us are. But, what choice do we have?" said Sora.

The group roamed through the sewers, when they stopped at a bizarre sight. "What the heck is this?" Scootaloo asked.

The wall had a large children's painting of a castle painted all around the door.

"We're not really going in there, are we?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Well, apparently, we must. Though, it does look like a trap." Rarity pondered.

"How about I go first and check it out, and if there's nothing, then we continue on through." said Sora. He opened the door, then stepped back to be greeted by a crate, tied to the ceiling, drop glass bottles onto the floor!

"What was that?" asked Spike.

"It's alright. It's just a sound trap. An alarm of some kind." said Sora.

"Why would someone set up a sound trap?" asked Scootaloo.

"Someone who used to live here, maybe." said Fluttershy.

"Yeah, but who would want to live in a sewer?" asked Scootaloo.

"Someone who thought they could keep a place like this safe." said Fluttershy.

"Doesn't look like that's the case anymore." said Rarity.

The group continued onward to find what looked like the remains of a colony built in the sewers, there was even a bunch of child's toys and games, which meant there were families living in these sewers.

"Hey, look." Scootaloo pointed to a soccer ball, and a drawing of a goal on the wall. Scootaloo picked up the ball.

"Uh, kids..." Sora started.

"Relax, we'll keep it down. Just one game." said Scootaloo. "Belle, your'e in the middle, Spike, your'e the goalie."

Scootaloo kicked the ball to Sweetie Belle, then she kicked it to Spike, and Spike caught the ball just in time before hitting the goal.

"Good catch, Spike." said Sweetie Belle.

"Thanks. Good game." said Spike, replacing the ball on the ground.

The group continued through the sewer colony ruins. The hallway ended at two different paths.

"Flutters, you, Rarity, and Scoots check the right hall. Me, Spike, and Belle will check the left hall." said Sora. There was a gated door at the end of the left hall. Sora opened it, when suddenly, a barrel fell to the floor tied to a rope, and the hall behind the trio was cut off by a metal gate!

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity called from the barred window of the gate.

"We're okay, Sis." said Sweetie Belle.

"That was my bad. I must've triggered some safety gate trap, or something." said Sora. "Girls, see if you two can help me get this open."

"So, this is awkward." Scootaloo from the other end of the gate.

"Yeah, I know." said Sweetie Belle. "Feels like every time-"

"Wait! Did anyone hear that?!" said Spike. It was clickers! Heading the group's way!

"Guys, this isn't budging!" said Fluttershy. "Look, just go! We'll catch up." said Sora.

"Sweetie Belle, stay close to the boys, okay?" Rarity told her sister.

"Rarity, we gotta fucking move!" Fluttershy shouted and took Scootaloo by the hand.

"You boys keep her safe!" Rarity called as the girls ran down the hall, as clickers followed in pursuit, paying no attention to the trio on the other end of the gate.

"They're gonna be okay. Let's just see where this leads." Sora told the kids.

"Spike, I'm a little scared for the girls." said Sweetie Belle, as they walked down the hall. Spike took Sweetie Belle's hand.

"I'm pretty sure they'll be just fine. Clickers are a lot slower than other types of infected." Spike said, assuringly.

"Hold up!" Sora whispered. The trio took cover as infected called stalkers roamed the area in front of them. "Alright, we need to use stealth for this one. Belle, how good are you with that bow?" said Sora.

"Pretty good shot. Rarity taught me." said Sweetie Belle.

She aimed her bow and took out the stalkers, one by one. Sora and Spike made quick, sneaky work with a couple of nearby clickers with their knifes.

"I guess now we know what happened to these people." said Spike. The trio climbed a ladder to the next floor.

"Well, seeing as there were clickers, they've been gone a long time." said Sora.

"Fucking thing!" cried a nearby voice.

"Sora, that's Scoots!" said Sweetie Belle. The trio hopped down the ledge to the next room, and saw the girls firing at faraway clickers.

"Guys!" Scootaloo shouted. Rarity hugged Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy and Scootaloo hugged the boys. Clickers started pouring in.

"RUN!" shouted Sora.

The group ran for their lives. They slammed the door tight, and ran to the exit of the sewage building.

"Damn thing's stuck!" Rarity cried, trying to budge the door open.

The clickers were pounding at the door!

"That's not gonna hold!" said Sora.

"Kids, see if you can open it from the other end." said Fluttershy. "What about you, Mom?" asked Scootaloo.

"We'll be fine. We'll hold them off." said Fluttershy.

The adults boosted the kids up the window on top of the door.

"Alright, girls. Get ready!" said Sora.

The clickers burst through the door! Sora and the girls opened fire! They took down the clickers one after another. Yet, for every one they took out, another showed up in it's place.

"Guys, it's open! Hurry!" Scootaloo called from the gap in the door.

"Let's go! Let's go!" called Sora. The adults sidled into the outside. They slammed the door, and blocked it with the vending machine that barricaded the door in the first place.

The group sighed in relief. "Fresh air." Rarity gasped.

"Um, guys?" Sweetie Belle pointed to a sign painted on the right side of the wall. It read:

WARNING! INFECTED! DO NOT ENTER!

"Oh, are you fucking kidding? Thanks for the warning, guys. No offense." Scootaloo said to those that lived here before being infected.

The group marched onward. It was already starting to become morning.

"How're you dong, little sis?" Rarity asked Sweetie Belle.

"Not one of our finest moments, but we made it out." said Sweetie Belle. "When I was with the boys, I took out a couple of infected. You'd be proud."

"I would." said Rarity.

The group was now entering the suburb part of Pittsburgh, with the radio tower close in their sights. The feeling of nostalgia had hit the adults all around them in the neighborhood.

"I was only seven-years-old when the infection hit, but I still remember growing up in a neighborhood like this." said Rarity.

"What do you remember about it?" asked Fluttershy.

"Barbecues." said Rarity. "My parents would throw these big crazy barbecues in the summer, and they would invite everyone in the neighborhood. I remember the smell more than anything."

"Hey, look. Doggies." Scootaloo pointed to two dogs play wrestling.

"You're gonna want to be careful. These dogs are wild, it's not like back in the zone." warned Sora. When the dogs saw the group approaching cautiously, they turned and fled.

"Hey, what's this?" Spike pointed to a truck with labels of ice cream under the bottom of a built-in shelf of the truck.

"Oh, this is an ice cream truck." said Sweetie Belle. "Rarity told me about these. They sell ice cream out of the truck."

"What? No way. Sora?" Spike asked Sora.

"It's true." said Sora. "In the summertime, this truck would go around neighborhoods, playing real loud, creepy music, and kids would run up to buy ice cream."

"You're totally fucking with me." Spike grinned.

"Nope, serious." Sora chuckled. "I really miss the Sea-salt flavored ice cream."

"Man, you guys lived in a strange time." said Spike.

"Told you so." said Sweetie Belle.

"Look, Firefly symbol." Rarity pointed to a graffiti art of the Firefly symbol. "They must've gone through here. If only knew where they went."

"Well, I know some people." said Sora. "They're my godparents. They used to be Fireflies, until they left. Last I heard, they were in Wyoming. We find them, we find the Fireflies, if you and your sister want to join us there, Rarity, you're more than welcome to."

"Sounds like an excellent plan. I always wanted to see a part of the wild west." Rarity said, with a giggle.

The group cut across the house that was nearest to the direction of the radio tower. "Is anyone hungry?" Scootaloo moaned.

"Yes." said Spike.

"Relax, kids. They'll be plenty of food when we get to the tower." Rarity said, assuringly.

"Hey, girls. Look, darts." Spike pointed to a dart board. "Come on, one quick game."

"Just be careful. They're sharp." Rarity said.

"Gotcha." said Sweetie Belle.

Spike landed on one of the outer points of the dart. "Damn it." he said.

Scootaloo landed on the center of the board. "Ha!" she said.

"Ok, let me go before you get too cocky." said Sweetie Belle. She landed just a spot off the center. "Aw, man." she said.

"Looks like I win." Scootaloo said, triumphantly.

"You just got lucky." Spike said, as the kids rejoined the adults.

They moved through the house, and were just a block away from the tower. They moved down the street when-

ZING!

The group took cover as a bullet bounced off a wrecked car!

"Fucking sniper. Anyone see where it came from?" said Sora.

"Down the street. By that house, over there." Fluttershy pointed to the last house at the end of the cul-de-sac.

"Alright, you guys stay here and cover me. I need you to keep him busy long enough for me to get to him." said Sora.

"Alright, just be careful." said Spike. Sora nodded.

Sora zipped from house to house, avoiding the sniper. He finally made it to the inside of the house, pulled out his gun, and looked for the sniper. He worked his way upstairs, and checked the room he thought he saw the gunshots were coming from. There was the rifle, but no person handling it. The sniper jumped out of his hiding spot, and charged at Sora with a knife! Sora was quicker, and made the sniper stab himself with his own weapon.

"Alright, guys! Come on through!" Sora called. The group ran in Sora's direction, only to take cover at the sound of large wheels coming down the street. The diamond dogs with their turret just turned around the corner!

"It's those tourists from the city! Get them!" cried the female dog.

"We're back, motherfucker!" cried the male dog.

"Oh no, no, no, no!" said Sora.

The turret aimed at the car the group was hiding behind. They covered their heads as heads, as the bullets bounced of the car. The hatch to the turret opened. The male dog popped out with a molotov. This was Sora's chance.

Sora shot at the male dog square in the head, as the molotov fell into the turret upon the impact of the hit. The turret exploded, the two roasted dogs fell out of the flaming turret, and it crashed into the side of a house.

"Oh, shit! That was intense." said Spike.

"You guys alright?!" called Sora.

"Yeah. Thanks, Sora." Spike called back.

"Guys, infected!" Scootaloo cried.

Things got from bad to worse as a pack of runners and clickers came from behind. The group rushed to the house Sora was in. Sora left the rifle, yet took the remaining ammo to give to Spike, and ran down the stairs, as the group barricaded the door.

"There you are." said Fluttershy.

"No one get bit or scratched?" Sora asked. The group shook their heads. "Then let's quit this place. Come on." said Sora.

The group hurried out the back door, through the fence, and from there it was the home stretch to the radio tower.

...

It was already nighttime when the group got to the tower. They all sat around as they ate the food they found in the supply shed.

"Shut up, really?" Rarity chuckled at Sora's story.

"No, I'm serious." said Sora. "It was my aunt and uncles wedding anniversary, and all they did was rent a Harley, and drove cross country."

"Man, if I could drive one just around the block one time, I'd never ride it again." Fluttershy said, dreamily. "So, how'd they like it?"

"They said it was cool, Flutters." said Sora.

"Just cool? Can you believe this guy?" Fluttershy said to the kids.

"Come on, darling. Give us more details. They had to have enjoyed it more than just to say cool." said Rarity.

"Y'know what? You grown-ups need some grown up time." chuckled Spike, as he and the girls sat up.

"Now, Spikey-wikey. This is isn't some normal motorcycle were talking about." said Rarity. "When you get on that bad boy, feel that engine. It's exhilarating."

"Oh, and how would you know?" joked Spike.

"I've seen it in my dreams. Vroom, Vroom!" Rarity joked. The group shared what was the best laugh any of them had in a long time.

"Okay, me and the girls are gonna hang out in the other room. We'll come to bed soon." Spike smiled.

The adults sighed. "I don't think anyone from our group is gonna show up." said Rarity. "Worst part of all, explaining it to Sweetie Belle."

Sora nodded. Sora and Fluttershy looked to each other, and both nodded. They knew if Rarity and Sweetie Belle planned on joining the Fireflies, Gilda was gonna tell them about Spike, so they figured they should tell them.

"Say, Rarity," said Sora. "If you're gonna join the Fireflies, then there's something you should know."

...

Spike and the girls were sharing a can of peaches, and sitting by the window on the floor, with their backs to the wall.

"Well, it's safe to say those guys have officially bonded." said Scootaloo.

"Hey guys, can I ask you a question?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"What's that?" asked Spike.

"How is it you guys are never scared?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Who says that were not?" said Spike.

"Well, what are you scared of?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Well, scorpions kinda freak me out." joked Scootaloo. "But, in all seriousness, being myself."

"I'm scared of ending up alone, too." said Spike. "What about you, Belle?"

"Those things out there." Sweetie Belle pointed to the window. "What if the people are still inside? What if they're trapped without any control of their body? I'm scared of that happening to me."

Spike put an arm around to comfort Sweetie Belle. "Okay, first off, we're a team now. We're gonna look after each other." he said.

"Spike's right." said Scootaloo. "Secondly, they may look like people, but the person in there is not there anymore."

"Rarity says that they've moved on. That they're with their families. Like in heaven. You think that's true?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"I go back and forth." said Scootaloo.

"Me too." said Spike.

"Same here." said Sweetie Belle.

"Oh, all this serious talk, I almost forgot." Spike reached into his pack, and pulled out the Stitch toy. "Here." Spike said, giving it to Sweetie Belle. "If she doesn't know about it, she can't take it away."

Sweetie Belle was so happy that Spike did this for her, she didn't hold back, and kissed him on the lips. Spike and Scootaloo were both surprised.

"Sorry." Sweetie Belle blushed.

"Don't be." Spike smiled, and kissed her back.

Scootaloo smiled, and sat up. "Well, looks like you two lovebirds could use some privacy." she said. "See you in the morning."

She went back into the other room, leaving Spike and Sweetie Belle alone together.

"Say, Belle." said Spike. "Since your'e gonna join the Fireflies, they're probably gonna tell you this anyway, but me and the others thought we should tell you and Rarity anyway."

"You can tell me anything, Spike." said Sweetie Belle.

"Well, okay." said Spike. He pulled on the collar of his vest...

**That'll be all for this chapter. I'm just gonna leave it at a cliffhanger right there. Not an excitable cliffhanger, but you know. Next one will move onto the Autumn part of the story. I own nothing. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. Please comment. Thanks. (More editing on this chapter.)**


	8. Chapter 6: Discord and Celestia's Dam

** Hey, guys. I'm back with another chapter after so long. Sorry about that. I had to get back in the swing of things after so many typing and editing. Hope you enjoy this one. Please comment. Thanks.**

Fall: Jackson County Line

Months. It had been months of hiking all the way west. From fighting and dodging infected and hostiles, the group finally made it to Wyoming.

"Jackson County. Does that mean where close to Jackson City?" Scootaloo asked after reading the sign that said:

NOW ENTERING: JACKSON COUNTY

"Just about." said Sora.

"So, ready to see sweet old uncle and dear old aunt?" asked Spike.

"I'm just ready to get there." said Sora.

Sora was wearing a black coat and hood, Scootaloo was wearing a green camouflage heavy coat over her grey hoodie, Spike was wearing a purple hoodie and sand-colored pants, Fluttershy was wearing a black hoodie with rabbit ears on the hood, Rarity was wearing a turquoise jacket, and Sweetie Belle was wearing a crimson red buttoned coat with a white scarf.

The group followed the river that Sora said would lead to the town.

"So, how come you chose not to stay with your godparents, Sora?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Well, they saw the world one way, and I saw it the other." said Sora. "Gilda promised them hope, and that's why they joined the Fireflies. But, like them, they eventually quit that, too."

"Man, and their gonna help us, after all that?" asked Spike.

"Hopefully." said Sora.

"Hey, what's that?" Scootaloo pointed to a large structure built on the river.

"That's a hydro-electric dam. It's what powers the city." said Sora.

"And how does it do that?" asked Spike.

"I know what it does, I just don't know how it does it." said Sora.

The group crossed to the other side of the dam, and arrived at a large metal gate.

"Do we have to cut across this?" asked Spike.

"Looks like it. Girls, gimme a hand with this." said Sora.

Sora and the girls pushed on the gate, trying to budge it open, only to notice too late at the guards on top of the wall, pointing guns at them.

"Don't even think about reaching for your weapons! Tell the girl to drop hers, now!" a female green unicorn guard warned at gunpoint to Scootaloo, who had her pistol drawn.

"Scootaloo, do as the lady says." Fluttershy said.

Scootaloo withdrew her pistol, and raised her hands in the air like the rest of the group.

"Look, we didn't know this place was occupied. We're just to make our way through." said Sora.

"Through to where?" asked the guard.

"It's alright. They're good." a voice called from the other side of the gate.

"You know them?" the guard called back.

"We know him." the voice said.

The gate opened to reveal a female alicorn, wearing a yellow buttoned jacket, and holding a hunter's rifle. Next to her was a male draconequus, wearing a brown overcoat and blue flannel shirt underneath, holding a hunter's rifle as well.

"That's our nephew." said the alicorn.

"Auntie. Uncle." Sora grinned.

"Holy shit." Celestia said under her breath, as she and Discord ran to hug Sora.

"I missed you guys, too." Sora said, smiling.

"Hot damn." said Discord. "Let us take a look at you, boy."

"You guys got fucking old." said Sora.

"Easy, it's gonna happen to you too." smirked Celestia. "Oh, there's some people we like you to meet."

Behind them were two kids, one 10-year-old draconequus male, and one 7-year-old alicorn female. They each had bows in their hands, and wearing rain coats.

"These are our kids, we had them in our forties, after we left the Fireflies. Our son's name is Chao, and our daughter's name is Star." said Celestia.

Sora noticed them on the wall earlier with the guards. "Kids, thanks for not piercing our brains out." Sora joked.

"That would've been embarrassing, considering your'e our cousin in a sense." Chao joked back.

"So, let me introduce you guys to my group." said Sora. "This is Spike. This is Fluttershy, and her daughter, Scootaloo. This is Rarity, and her sister, Sweetie Belle."

"What brings you all here?" Celestia asked.

"It's a really long story." said Spike.

"Well, come inside, and you can tell us about it." said Discord.

"Sure. Any of you kids hungry?" asked Celestia.

"Starved." said Scootaloo.

The group marched inside the wall, and the guards closed the gate again.

"False alarm, they're friendlies." Celestia called to the guards.

"Guys, this is Lyra Heartstrings, and her friend, Bon Bon. They run the guard patrol." Celestia introduced the green pony the group met on the wall, and a beige colored female pony that they saw next to Lyra.

"My bad back there, guys." Lyra apologized.

"Don't sweat it, Lyra." said Celestia. "You and Bon Bon just go home to your families. You did some good work for the day."

"Just a couple more hours, until Kairi and her team cover for us. We got this position." said Bon Bon.

"No way." Spike awed at the large, bipedal bird creatures with saddles and reins, being groomed. "You guys have chocobos."

The birds chirped as the kids petted their golden feathers.

"You know how to ride a chocobo?" Sora asked Spike.

"Yeah, this soldier named Terra taught me how, in exchange for beer, though." said Spike.

"Alright, let's continue the tour." Discord led the group into the power plant.

"So, what're you guys doing here? I thought we'd find you in Jackson." said Sora.

"Been trying to get the plant back to life." said Celestia. "We have electricity, Sora. Well, had. One of the turbines went south. But, we'll get her running again."

Celestia's radio started to crackle. "This is Celestia. Go ahead." she said to her walkie talkie.

"Celestia. Steve's gonna start up the generator again. Says he thinks he got it working again. Care to come check it out?" said the voice over the radio.

"I rather eat with Fluttershy, Rarity, and the kids." Celestia said to Discord, to be honest.

"It's my turn, anyway. I'll go check on them." said Discord.

"I'll come with you." said Sora.

"Sora?" Spike asked.

"Don't worry. I'll be right back. I gotta tell Discord about the you-know-what." Sora whispered. "Go and get some food in you."

Spike nodded. Sora and Discord went to the barracks, leaving Spike and the girls with Celestia's family.

"Hey, Spike. You think you can give me and my big brother some extra pointers on archery?" asked Star.

"You'll have to ask Fluttershy or Sweetie Belle. They're more of the experts." Spike grinned, as the group sat down to eat.

...

Meanwhile, Sora and Discord were walking through the barracks.

"This'll probably the sixth time they tried to get the plant back on." said Discord.

Sora noticed a female collie dog lying on the floor, and petted her.

"That's Winona. She's not much of a guard dog, but she provides good companionship." said Discord.

"Oh, by the way, Sora. I have something for you." Discord reached into his bag for something. "Last year, I went back to Texas. Back home. Most of our stuff was gone, but I did get this. It's a little faded, but it still looks good."

Discord handed Sora a picture. It showed Sora holding an umbrella for Ushio, as she wore her yellow rain jacket and pink backpack. They stood at the bus stop, waiting for Ushio's school bus. That was taken during Ushio's last day of school, before summer vacation. Before everything turned upside down.

"I'm good." Sora said, as he handed back the picture.

"You sure?" asked Discord.

"I said I'm good." said Sora.

"Alright, I'll hold onto it for you." Discord said, as he stuffed the picture back into his bag.

"Uncle, there's something I need to tell you and Auntie, but you gotta keep it a secret." said Sora.

"Sure, just let me check on my guys real quick." said Discord.

The men worked their way to the generator room.

"Don't know what you've heard, but we're over twenty families strong now." Discord said on the way. "We've got livestock, crops. Remember how people used to live like this? Well, we're doing it. We've also got guards watching the gate. We've even got an electric fence to deal with infected and bandits."

The men made it to the generator room, just as the crew finished replacing the shield back on the turbine they got done fixing.

"Alright, someone flip the switch." ordered Discord.

The generators starting running. The lights all came flashing back on in a wave of light!

"Hot damn! We did it, boys!" Discord shouted, as the crew cheered. "Someone get on the horn, and tell Celestia the good news." Discord turned to Sora. "Alright, Sora. Let's go talk."

The two men walked into Discord's office.

"Quite the crew you got here." said Sora.

"They're good people. This place gives them a second chance." said Discord. "Gives us all a second chance. So, why'd you leave Boston?"

"I've been on quite on the adventure, Uncle." Sora said, as the two men sat down.

"I reckon it's got something to do with those kids." said Discord.

"It's got everything to do with those kids. Spike, especially." said Sora.

"And?" asked Discord.

"He's immune to the infection." said Sora.

"What?!" said Discord.

"I'm serious. I've seen him breath in enough spores to take down a dozen men, and nothing. I wouldn't believe it myself, but I can prove it to you." said Sora.

"Alright, so why bring him here?" said Discord.

"I was supposed to deliver him to the Fireflies. Rarity and Sweetie Belle are fixed up on joining them too. You used to work with them, so I figured you take them there, and you collect the whole damn payment." said Sora.

"I haven't seen a Firefly in years." said Discord.

"But you know where they are." said Sora. "I'm not asking for much, Uncle. I just want some simple gear, enough to set me and the rest of my group on our way. Probably go to the Los Angeles QZ. Hear it's doing a lot better than other QZ's."

"Sora, we're not talking about some walk through the park, here." said Discord.

"But wasn't this your cause?" asked Sora.

"My cause is my family, now." said Discord.

"Then if you won't do it, have Auntie get some of your born again friends to do it." said Sora.

"They all have families, too." said Discord.

"Please, Uncle. I really need this." said Sora.

"You want some gear, fine. But, I'm not taking half of your group off your hands." said Discord.

"I bring you the cure for mankind and furrykind, and you're gonna wuss out on this?" Sora asked, standing up. "I can't keep doing this, Uncle, and I don't think I need to spell it out for you to know why."

Discord did get what Sora meant by that. "Boy," said Discord. "I hear what you're saying. But Ushio was my niece, too. I miss her just as much as you do. Not a day goes by when I think I could've done something different to help her. Sometimes, I hear Celestia cry herself to sleep at night, mostly on the anniversary of... when it happened. But, Sora this is something you can't keep running away from, forever."

Their conversation was interrupted by a siren.

"What's that?" asked Sora.

"Bandits!" Discord said, reaching for his rifle. "You still remember how to kill, right?"

"Yep." said Sora, and the two men headed outside to help the rest of the staff.

Bandits came pouring in left and right, taking out members of the staff, but when Sora and Discord arrived on the scene, they started pushing their forces back.

"Discord!" Celestia called through Discord's walkie talkie. "We're in the main lobby. The kids are with us. Oh, shit. Kids, get down! Girls, open fire!"

"Celestia!" Discord called back, but got only static. "Damn it! Come on, Sora."

The group made it back to the lobby to find one bandit still standing. One headshot from Discord was all it took to take him down. The girls and the kids came rushing out of their hiding place. Discord hugged his family.

"You all okay?" Discord asked Celestia. Then he turned to see Sora with his group.

"Sora! Oh, man. You should've seen them." said Spike. "Their was a dozen of them, but me, Scoots, and Belle helped the girls take them down. There was this guy with a big shotgun blowing right through the door, but-"

"Easy, easy." said Sora. "Are you and the girls hurt?"

"No, barely a scratch." said Spike.

"Aw, damn it." Discord whispered, then turned to Celestia. "I need to talk to you."

...

"Absolutely not!" said Celestia.

The group was outside when Celestia and Discord were talking, more like arguing.

"I feel like I have to do this. I don't know what else to say." said Discord.

"Do you realize how many people we lost here today?" said Celestia.

"Are they talking about me?" Spike asked Sora.

"We'll talk about it later. Okay?" said Sora.

"Later. Yeah, right." Spike mumbled, then walked away.

"It takes one. One fuck up, and then I turn into one of those widowed parents. Okay?" said Celestia.

"I just can't have this hanging over my head, Celestia." said Discord.

"Fine." Celestia raised her hands and just walked away.

"Oh, boy." Sora muttered.

"She's thankful, you know." said Discord. "I'll take that boy and those two sisters to the Fireflies for you."

"It's better this way." said Sora.

"Maybe some real good will come of this." said Discord.

"I need to talk to Spike first." said Sora.

"Guys!" Celestia came rushing back out. "Spike's gone. He took one of our chocobos, and ran off."

"Damn it. Which way?" said Sora.

"C'mon." Celestia led the group to the chocobos.

Sora rode solo on a chocobo, Scootaloo rode with her mother, Sweetie Belle rode with her sister, Chao rode with his father, and Star rode with her mother. They rode down the highway south, following horse tracks into the woods.

"Spike usually pull these kind of stunts?" asked Chao.

"No, Kiddo. Not like this. I don't know what's going on." said Sora.

Fluttershy silently shook her head. Sora still didn't get it, the way she did.

"Look! By the ranch!" Celestia pointed to an abandoned ranch house, where Spike's chocobo was tied up.

The group got off to search the house.

"Spike!" Scootaloo called.

"Up here." Spike called.

"You all keep watch. I gotta talk to him." said Sora.

"Just be calm about it." said Fluttershy.

Sora nodded, and headed upstairs to find Spike by a window in a teenage girls room, reading a diary.

"Is this all girls had to worry about back in the day? Boys, movies, figuring out which shirt goes with which skirt? Bizarre." said Spike.

"C'mon, we're leaving." said Sora.

"And if I say no?" said Spike, putting the diary down, and sitting up.

"You realize the danger you put yourself in? Running off like that? It's sounds pretty stupid." said Sora.

"Well, I guess we're both disappointed with each other." said Spike.

"What do you want from me?" said Sora.

"Admit you wanted to get rid of me the whole time." said Spike.

"That's not true." said Sora.

"Really? Then, what're you so afraid of? I can't get infected. I can handle myself." said Spike.

"How many close calls have we had?" said Sora.

"Well, we've done okay so far." said Spike.

"Well, now you'll be doing even better with Celestia and Discord!" snapped Sora.

"This is about her, isn't it?" asked Spike.

"What?" said Sora.

"Celestia told me and the girls about Ushio, and I-"

"Spike!" Sora stopped Spike before he could finished. He didn't want to hear it. "You're treading on some mighty thin ice right now." he warned.

"Look, I'm so sorry about your little sister, Sora. I understand she meant everything to you. But, your'e not the only one who's lost people too." said Spike.

"You have no real idea what loss is." Sora scolded.

"Back in Boston," said Spike. "Back when I was bitten, I wasn't alone. My best friend was there. Her name was Twilight Sparkle, and she got bit too. Everyone that I've ever cared about has either died or left me. Everyone, except for the girls," Spike pushed Sora. "And for fucking you! So, don't tell me I'd be safer with someone else, because the truth is, I'd just be more scared!"

Sora just stood silent for a long while. "Your'e right." said Sora. "But you, me, and the girls are not family. So, we are all going are own separate ways."

The rest of the group barged in at the finish of their conversation.

"Get it together, boys! We're not alone." said Fluttershy.

Sora looked out the window to see two thugs enter through the kitchen door. "I got two walking in." he said.

"There's more inside already." said Discord.

The group's stealthiness had payed off yet again, as the bandits fell one by one at the hands of the group. They headed back to the chocobos, and rode off before any more showed up. No one said a word on the way back to town. At the top of a hill, they could see Jackson lit up with lights all around the town.

Discord chuckled. "Kids'll be watching movies tonight."

Chao and Star were super excited about that.

"So, where's the Firefly camp, again?" Sora asked Discord.

"It's all the way out at the University of Eastern Colorado." said Discord.

"Go big horns." Sora chuckled. "Where's their lab?"

"It's in the science wing. The roof looks like a large mirror." said Discord.

"Spike, give your chocobo back to Discord and Celestia. You can ride with me." Sora told Spike.

Everyone, especially Spike, was speechless.

"Well, go on. Don't make repeat myself." said Sora.

Spike grinned, got off the chocobo, and handed the reins to Discord. "Sorry for taking your chocobo." he said.

"What're you doing?" Chao asked.

"No offense, Kiddo. But your mom kinda scares me sometimes. I don't want her coming after me." Sora joked, as he helped Spike onto the seat.

"Aw, she scares most people sometimes." giggled Star.

"Look, come back to town. Let's discuss this at least." said Celestia.

"Aw, it's not you, Auntie. Just had a change of heart, that's all." said Sora. "You just take care of that family of yours."

"There's a place for you here, y'know." said Celestia.

"Who knows? We just might come back." said Sora. "Adios, Auntie and Uncle."

Sora turned his chocobo to face the girls, with smiles on their faces. "Let's ride."

Just like that, they rode off north, to Colorado, and hopefully, to the Fireflies.

**That's it for this chapter. The chocobos are from the Final Fantasy video games, so I used them because all the equines are anthropomorphics. I own nothing. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended. Please comment. (I could really use some right now. Not wanting to sound desperate.) Thanks. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. (Some major editing on this chapter.)**


	9. Chapter 7: The University

** Hey, guys. Here's another chapter for you. Please comment. Enjoy.**

"So, let me see if I get this straight." said Spike. "You get tagged out even if you make it to the base?"

"No, if a catcher on another base throws the ball to the base where your'e headed, or if the ball flies to the base, then you get struck out." said Sora.

"Man. That is confusing." said Scootaloo.

"You just gotta play it a couple times till you get the hang of it." said Fluttershy.

The group and their chocobos had rode for days, but they made it to Colorado. The sign on the gate read:

UEC: UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN COLORADO

There was a banner on the other end of the gate that read:

GO COLORADO BIG HORNS!

The group rode into the campus, looking for the science building with the giant mirror roof.

Rarity sighed at the sight before her. "If only I could attend a school this big. I'd be a fabulous clothes designer."

"This whole area is a school for adults?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"They would just study, party, find themselves, and figure out what they wanted to do with their lives." said Sora.

"Say, Spike. What would you wanna be if you went to a university?" asked Scootaloo.

"Um, an astronaut." said Spike.

"Is that a fact?" Sora grinned.

"Yeah. Can you imagine being all alone up there by yourself?" said Spike.

"What did you want to be if you went to a university, Sora?" asked Fluttershy.

"Well, when I was a kid, I always wanted to be... a singer." Sora blushed.

"Really? Well, sing something." said Fluttershy.

"I don't think so." said Sora.

"Sora, c'mon. Please. We won't laugh." begged Scootaloo.

"No, it's embarrassing." said Sora.

The group rode further into the campus.

"None of these buildings look like a giant mirror for a roof." said Spike.

"We just gotta go a little further. Maybe to the center of the campus." said Sora.

"How many people do you think are there? Fireflies, I mean." said Sweetie Belle.

"Must take quite a crew to run that operation." said Rarity.

"Do you think there might be kids are age there, too?" asked Scootaloo.

"Probably." said Spike. "Far as I knew, Me and Twilight were the only kids to join the Fireflies for a long while."

"You really believe your immunity will be made into a vaccine?" Sweetie Belle asked Spike.

"It's what I'm crossing my fingers for." said Spike.

"I'm surprised Belle and Rarity took it well when we told them." Sora whispered Fluttershy. "I guess people will believe anything when you set up to join the Fireflies."

The group's path was cut short by a gate at the end of the tunnel that led further into the center of the campus. Sora hopped off his chocobo to read a note attached to the gate. It read:

_"We had to move the generator upstairs. Plug it into the outlet on the other side of the gate. The way out to the other end of the gate is right next to the room where we put the generator. Please use it sparingly, 'cause we're almost low on gas."_

"Drat. Alright, y'all stay right here, and I'll go get the generator." Sora told the group.

"You sure?" asked Spike.

"Yes, I don't want Cedric and the other chocobos running off." said Sora. "What kind of a name is Cedric for a chocobo, anyway?"

"Not my fault you forgot to ask your uncle his name." chuckled Spike.

Sora worked his way upstairs to where the note said the generator would be. He threw on his gas mask when he saw spores emerging from a giant hole in the floor. Sora didn't want to go down there, but the generator wasn't in any of the rooms he checked, so his next guess was that it was in the worst place he thought possible. The spores would explain why the floor before the one he was on was covered by a large blockage, to prevent the spores from spreading, for now.

Sora hopped down and ducked out of the as runners, clickers, and a couple of bloaters were all around the hallway. Sora didn't utter a word as he worked his way around them and to the other end of the hall where he could see the generator, a few feet away from a door, and a bloater. Sora was extra careful around the bloater, sneaking around him like a mouse, then quickly grabbed the generator on the wheeled cart, then ran for the door, blocking it behind him as the bloater banged on the window.

Sora pushed the cart out into the fresh air, removing his gas mask, then plugged it into the outlet. He pulled the rope switch a few times to get the gas going. "Okay, Flutters. Push the button to see if the gate opens." he said to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy did so, and the gate opened without a problem. Sora hopped back onto Cedric, and the group rode further into the campus.

"I heard a commotion in there. You alright?" Fluttershy asked Sora.

"I ran into some infected, but I dodged them." said Sora.

"Why would they have infected so close where they work?" asked Spike.

"Well, Lea used them as a form of defense, in a way. Maybe they're doing the same." said Sora.

The group made it to the center of the campus, where they saw the oddest site. A group of monkeys running all around the fountain area.

"First time seeing a monkey, kids?" asked Sora.

"Yeah, so cool." said Spike.

"Look, that must be the science building." Rarity pointed to a large building that had a large dome-like roof. It did look like a giant mirror.

The group stopped at the entrance steps to see a graffiti sign of the Firefly symbol.

"Alright, good. First sign of Fireflies." said Spike.

Sora tried to open the doors, but they were locked from the inside. He knocked on the doors, hoping someone nearby inside would see or hear him, but no one was there. So, there was only one other way in. Up the scaffolding. The group climbed the scaffolding, and into the busted open, third story window.

"Hello Fireflies!" called Spike. "Anyone home? Cure for mankind and furrykind here."

"Let's keep it down. They're probably the next floor up." said Sora.

The group worked their way up the stairs, to be greeted to the sound of someone, or something, running out of sight.

"Did anyone else hear that?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"What if it's more infected?" asked Rarity.

"No. Infected don't hide." said Sora.

Sora slowly opened the door to where he heard whatever ran away retreated to. The group was greeted by a startled monkey! The monkey dropped the trash bin it was holding, and ran off in a fright.

"Well, at least it's not infected." Sora sighed with relief.

"Yeah, but no Fireflies, either." said Spike, disappointingly.

"Well, maybe in all that research, they all just turned into fucking monkeys." said Scootaloo, sarcastically.

The group looked around to find clues that would tell them where the Fireflies were. Rarity found a recorder. She played the message saying:

_"Just lost two more guards to infected. We're about to go have another meeting about the safety of the lab. All our equipment, all our data, and all of our personnel, they've all gotten settled to staying here. I'm gonna run another test, to keep me from going insane from all this stress."_

The recorder stopped. Fluttershy found another recorder from the same Firefly, with a different message saying:

_"That's four crates of lab equipment all packed up and ready to go. Now, big question is what do we do with all you guys? They said the tainted batch needs to be put down, but you know what I think, I say screw that. Who else made a bigger sacrifice than you, huh? If anyone deserves to roam free it's- Hey, easy! Agh! Shit. Oh, no. It bit me. Oh my God."_

The recorder stopped. "Sure glad we didn't mess with them monkeys." said Fluttershy.

"He didn't say where the Fireflies went." said Spike.

"C'mon. Let's check this room." Sora pointed to a door at the other end of the room. There, they found what was left of the Firefly that left those recorders. He didn't want to end up as an infected, so...

Sora grabbed the recorder next to the skeletal remains on the table, and played the message saying:

_"If you're looking for the Fireflies, they've all left."_

"Yeah, no shit." said Spike, looking through a binder.

_"I'm a goner, or I will be soon. Got me some time to reflect."_

Sora fast-forwarded the tape.

_"Feels like years since we've hit a breakthrough."_

Sora fast-forwarded again.

_"The whole thing was a giant waste of time."_

Fast-forwarding again.

_"I'm not gonna do this anymore."_

Fast-forwarding again.

_"If you came here, looking for the others, they've all returned to Saint Mary's Hospital in Salt Lake City. You'll find them there, still trying to save the world. Good luck with that."_

The recorder stopped playing.

"You know where that is?" Spike asked Sora.

"Well, I know the city, but it's not exactly close. I mean on chocobos, it's-" Sora stopped mid-sentence when he noticed a small light in the window, coming from the other end of the building.

"What is that? Fireflies?" asked Spike.

"Get down!" Sora and the others ducked as a bullet came flying from the window!

"Oh, man. Who are these guys?" whispered Spike.

"Doesn't matter. We know where to go. Let's get back to the chocobos." whispered Sora.

The group hurried back down the stairs, but when they got to the second floor, a bandit burst through a door, and ambushed Sora! Sora wrestled the guy, until they both fell off the second floor. The bandit didn't survive the fall, but Sora's hip got impaled by a small metal bar! Sora screamed in pain.

"SORA!" cried Fluttershy.

The group climbed down a plug wire, and rushed to Sora's side. Two more bandits came barging in, but Rarity made quick work of them.

"Okay, Rarity. We gotta get him free. On three." said Fluttershy.

"Ready? Three!" said Rarity.

The girls pulled Sora up, and freed him from the bar. Sora cried and winced in pain, as he was losing blood, fast. Fluttershy and Rarity each put Sora's arms around their shoulders.

"It's okay. I'm fine." Sora muttered.

"Your'e not okay, Sora. Now, c'mon. We gotta get out of here." said Fluttershy.

The group hurried to the main lobby of the science building, when they saw more bandits barge through. The group took cover.

"Alright, don't worry, ladies. Me and the girls got this." said Spike. He, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle ran to another hiding spot before Fluttershy or Rarity could stop them.

"Those were our friends you killed, assholes. Now, you're gonna pay for that." snarled the leading bandit.

Spike and the girls wiped them out in single shots, as the bandits didn't know what hit them. "All clear, guys. Hurry!" called Spike.

Fluttershy and Rarity helped Sora to his feet, as the kids got the door.

"Oh, man. I swear, Sora, if we get you out of this, your'e so singing for us." said Fluttershy.

"Yeah, you wish." Sora chuckled, weakly.

They made it outside to notice a bandit stealing their chocobos, but Scootaloo took him out in a clear headshot before he had a chance to reach for his gun. Fluttershy and Rarity helped Sora onto Cedric. Spike got on behind, and the girls hopped onto their chocobos. They rode off, not once looking back.

...

They made it a good couple of miles away from the university, as snow began to fall.

"Sora?" Spike noticed Sora was slipping off his chocobo. Spike tried to grab him, but Sora fell onto the road, unconscious.

"Oh, shit." muttered Fluttershy. The rest of the group got off their chocobos to help Sora.

Spike tried pulling Sora up, but to no avail. "C'mon, get up, Sora." Spike grunted.

"C'mon, Texas. Don't do this to me. To us." Fluttershy pleaded. "C'mon, you gotta get up. Sora?"

**That'll be all for this chapter. Yet, ending it off with another cliffhanger. I own nothing. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended. Please Comment. Thanks. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. (Small editing on this chapter.)**


	10. Chapter 8: Left Behind

**Hey, guys. I'm back with another chapter, and this one might be a little longer than the rest. By the way, Cedric is an OC name I thought of for Sora and Spike's chocobo in the story to substitute Callus from the video game. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please comment. Thanks.**

_(Flashback - Summer)_

Spike was asleep in a grey and blue-striped sleeveless shirt and navy blue shorts, dreaming. His dream consisted of an infected, sneaking into his dorm room, hissing down at him, and then bit him on the neck! Spike shot up awake, pushed the figure looming over him, and grabbed his switchblade from under his pillow. But, he saw that the infected in his dream was only his best friend, Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight?!" Spike gasped.

The 17-year-old purple unicorn had the same outfit on from when she disappeared. A white button-collared shirt, a tan sweater vest over it, and a dark blue skirt.

"Aw, man. I landed on my hip." she giggled, and rubbed her sore hip.

"What the hell? I thought I was bitten." Spike said, replacing his switchblade.

"Yeah, it was pretty funny." giggled Twilight.

"All this time, I thought you were dead." said Spike. "I haven't seen you since... I don't know how long."

"45 days. 46 days, technically." said Twilight. "Wanna know what I've been up to?" She pulled a dog tag with her name on one end, and the Firefly symbol on the other.

"No way, You're a Firefly." awed Spike.

Twilight smirked, and looked around Spike's room. "Still no new roommate?" Twilight pointed to Spike's empty top bunk bed. "I had to share a room with Rainbow Dash for three years, and you know how bad she smelled." She then looked at the picture of her and Spike when they first met a year ago.

"You still have it up." she said, touched.

Twilight turned to see Spike peeking out the door. "What're you doing?" she asked.

"Making sure I don't get caught with a Firefly in my room." said Spike.

"Relax. There are no soldiers on the entire floor. I checked." said Twilight. "So, are we cool?" she asked, rubbing the back of her head.

"Are we cool?" Spike retorted.

"I disappeared, and you're mad, AND I owe you an explanation." said Twilight. "Let's get out of here, and I'll tell you all about it."

"It's almost morning, and I have military drills. You know, where we learn to kill infected AND Fireflies." said Spike.

"You got plenty of time." Twilight waved off Spike's worry.

"So stupid." Spike muttered as he grabbed his backpack.

"Spike, C'mon." Twilight mischievously smirked. "When have we ever gotten into any trouble?"

If only she knew how ironic her question sounded right now...

_(Present day - Autumn)_

"No. C'mon, gimme something. Shit!"

Fluttershy was searching through drawers to find something to hold the patch to Sora's wound. Finally, she found some duct tape.

"Alright, this'll work." Fluttershy said.

The group had taken shelter from the snow at an abandoned mall, and they hid Sora in a food court. Fluttershy used one of her old shirts, and pressed down on Sora's wound, holding it together with the duct tape.

"Alright. That should buy us some time." said Fluttershy. "I'm gonna go find something to stitch up Sora."

"I'll coming with you, Flutters. Safety in numbers, and all that." said Spike.

Fluttershy nodded, appreciating the extra help. "Rarity, you and the girls watch over him." she said to her unicorn friend.

Rarity checked Sora's forehead. It was burning up. "You better hurry!" Rarity urged.

Fluttershy and Spike began to close the garage door on their way out.

"Be back in a flash." said Fluttershy.

"Promise." said Spike.

Fluttershy locked the door for the group's safety.

"Okay, now where do we go?" asked Spike.

"According to the map of the mall, there's a pharmacy on the second floor." said Fluttershy.

The duo made their way upstairs, and into the pharmacy. They searched every part of the store, but found only empty bottles and used up medical tape rolls. Fluttershy did find a large first-aid kit behind a door through the window, but found it locked. She looked over, and saw a note on the table. It read:

_"The pharmacist went crazy and attacked me, so I managed to knock him out, and locked him in the Build-A-Bear Workshop store next door. The key to his office is in his coat pocket. The combination to opening the garage door is 35-31-19." _

"Well, I can't find a single antibiotic anywhere. Any luck with you?" Spike asked Fluttershy.

"There's a med-kit back there, but the door's locked." said Fluttershy. "I think the pharmacist, or what's left of him, might have the key."

The duo headed next door, Fluttershy throwing on her gas mask in case of spores, and she opened the combination lock. Opening the garage door, they were met with spores, coming from the pharmacist's fungus-covered corpse. Spike carefully picked the left pocket of the corpse's coat, and found the key they need, also Spike found a photo strip of what appeared to be the pharmacist with a girl that could've been his girlfriend with her name on the back of the photo strip, "Laura." Spike, seeing this, made him remind of- Spike shook his head as he and Fluttershy didn't spend another minute in here.

Back at the pharmacy, Fluttershy took off her mask, and unlocked the door. She opened the med-kit to find... Nothing.

"What, are you kidding me?" Fluttershy said, kicking the empty kit in frustration.

"Hey, look." Spike pointed to another stroke of luck. There, dangling from a broken gap in the window roof of the mall, was a military medical helicopter.

"There's gotta be something in that chopper. C'mon, Spike." said Fluttershy. The duo worked their way down to find a way up to that chopper...

_(Flashback - Summer)_

Spike and Twilight hopped through the window leading into a closed building just as a patrol truck drove by.

"Sorry, I'm a bit jumpy lately." said Twilight. "C'mon. We're almost there." Twilight led the way through abandoned apartments, all the while catching up with Spike on what happened between the two.

"So, how did you become a Firefly?" asked Spike.

"Well, remember that Firefly you bit, and stole his gun?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah." said Spike.

"That was Trevor." said Twilight. "I followed him all the way to their hideout, but I got ambushed. This group of Fireflies took me all the way to Gilda."

"Were you scared?" asked Spike.

"Terrified." said Twilight. "I thought for sure she would kill me, but all she said was, 'What took you so long?, and just like that, I was in."

"Cool. Did they make you do any tests or something?" asked Spike.

"As part of my initiation, they made me shoot this infected Firefly that-" Twilight trailed off at the awful memory. "You know what, let's talk about something else. Who do you hang out with these days?"

"Nobody, that much." said Spike.

"What about Hayner, Pence, and Olette?" asked Twilight.

"Twilight, those are your friends." said Spike.

"But, you talk to them." said Twilight.

"Yeah, sometimes." said Spike. "So, maybe I should join the Fireflies."

"Spike, that was the first thing I asked Gilda." said Twilight. "But, she wants you to stay safe at that stupid school. She's worried I'll get you into trouble."

"What does she care?" said Spike. "I can get into trouble just fine on my own."

The duo made it to the rooftops, and crossed over into the roof of the mall. They jumped down inside through an open window as another patrol truck came driving through.

"Remember when I first brought you here?" said Twilight.

"What're we doing here again, Twilight?" asked Spike.

"I've got a surprise for you." said Twilight.

"Is it a phoenix?" asked Spike. "I'll be your friend again if it's a toy phoenix."

"Maybe." Twilight teased.

"Speaking of toys, I almost got those water guns back." said Spike.

"Really? You mean Corporal Egghead gave them back to you?" asked Twilight.

"I said I ALMOST had them. But, I got caught breaking into the Corporal's office, got stuck with 2 weeks of bathroom cleaning duty." said Spike.

"Aw, man." said Twilight. "Sorry to hear that, buddy."

"Say, did you hear about... Terra?" Spike asked.

"Yeah. Can't believe he's gone." Twilight sighed, sadly. "You know what happened?"

"They just said he fell off his chocobo. They thought it was a heart attack or something." said Spike.

"Well, how many people die of natural causes in this world? Not that much." said Twilight. "C'mon. Let's see what he left us." Twilight pointed to the camping tent in a plaza of the mall that served as Terra's home.

In the tent, Twilight noticed a picture of a teenage Terra. "Was this Terra? Man, guy used to be handsome." she said. She then pulled out a bottle of scotch. "Want some?" she asked Spike.

"No thanks. I don't drink. Besides, that doesn't look like beer." said Spike.

"Alright. Cheers, Terra." Twilight toasted to her old friend, and sipped down the whiskey. She hacked it back up. "Aw, man. That's strong." Twilight wheezed. "Did you know what happened to Precious?" she asked, referring to Terra's chocobo.

"Beats me. She's probably got a new master by now." said Spike.

The duo continued through a halloween costume store.

"Wow. How did we never find this place?" said Spike. When he turned, Twilight wasn't behind him. That's when Twilight jumped from behind a shelf and spooked Spike with a scary clown mask.

"Gotcha." Twilight guffawed out loud.

"You bitch. That's two times, today." Spike fumed.

"Here. I think you suit this werewolf mask." giggled Twilight. Spike put on the mask. "Oh, yeah. Badass." she smirked from under her mask.

The duo walked through the back entrance to another plaza of the mall, where two cars, one red and one blue, were displayed in the center.

"Oh, I got a good idea for a game." said Twilight. "Toss a brick at all of the windows of the cars. Loser has to ask a question. No sarcasm."

"Okay, but I gotta warn you. I'm the brick master." said Spike.

A little later, Spike proved his title by smashing all the windows in record time than the other times he played this game with Twilight. "Oh, yeah. Brick master, baby." said Spike, throwing off his mask in victory.

Twilight took off her mask. "My car had tougher windows." she huffed.

"Okay, question time." said Spike.

"I'm scared." Twilight nervously said, out loud.

"Okay," Spike said in a serious matter. "So, why did you leave without telling me?"

"I don't know." said Twilight, honestly.

"You don't know?" asked Spike, disbelievingly.

"Look, I was in a weird space, alright? I didn't tell anybody." said Twilight.

"But, I wasn't just anybody, was I?" asked Spike.

"No, you're my best friend." Twilight sighed, deeply. "Look, you gotta see this thing, and we're almost there. Let's go." Twilight took the lead again.

"You didn't answer my question." muttered Spike, following behind her.

The duo made it down to the basement of the mall. Twilight led Spike into the electrical room. "So, you know how the military powers only certain areas of the city?" she asked. "Turns out, buildings like this are full of power. You just gotta flip the switch." Twilight busted opened the electric box door, and flipped the switch. The basement lights flickered on.

"Wait, is the mall all lit up? Won't the soldiers see them?" asked Spike.

"No, the exterior lights don't work. This Firefly named Melanie told me." said Twilight.

The duo headed back up the stairs to the door to the ground floor.

"Hey, real quick." said Spike. "I just wanna say I'm glad you're still here, and that we're back together, so um, sorry about what I said back then."

"Me too." said Twilight. "All that stuff I said before I left, I didn't mean any of it."

"Twilight," smirked Spike. "You can be a sap, sometimes, y'know?"

"Boy, you started it." giggled Twilight. "Ready to check this out?"

"Yeah." Spike said. He and Twilight opened the doors. Spike awed at the sight. "You kidding me?"

_(Present day - Autumn)_

"Now, how do we get up there?" Spike asked Fluttershy, staring at the chopper above them.

"We gotta figure out how to get the power back on to open the gate. There's no other way." said Fluttershy. "C'mon. We might find something down in the basement."

The duo worked their way down into the basement, and into a partially flooded garage with a generator on a docking platform. Fluttershy popped the lid open to take a smell to see if there was gas inside. Nothing.

"Time to try out Lea's hose." said Fluttershy. She pulled out the hose, while Spike grabbed an empty gas tank.

Spike and Fluttershy searched all the trucks. Most were empty, but Spike found one with a quarter tank left. Spike plugged in the hose through the hose, sucked out the gas, spat out the awful taste in his mouth, and the gas started pouring into the container. When the container was full of what was left of the gas, Spike refueled the generator, as Fluttershy pulled the rope switch a few times, and got the generator running.

As the lights came back on, stalkers came rushing into the garage, but never got far as a cable fell into the water, and zapped the two infected!

"Oh, nelly." said Spike. "No way getting out through that direction."

"C'mon. We can circle around through here." Fluttershy pointed to the door at the other end of the platform.

The duo went into a complete circle, back to where the gate leading to the helicopter was. Fluttershy, crossing her fingers, pushed the button, and the gate opened by a mere inches. Fluttershy pushed the rest of the gate open, and she and Spike hiked up the stairs, turned left, to where there was a bridge of glass windows leading to the opening of the helicopter.

"Let me go, Flutters. I can make that jump." said Spike.

Before Fluttershy could say anything, Spike was already treading lightly on the glass, then gently crouched, and jumped into the helicopter. Spike grabbed onto a pole as the helicopter swiveled. Spike regained his footing, and found a first-aid kit on the floor. Spike opened it up, and in it was everything they needed. Antibiotics, needles for stitches, everything was there.

"I'm okay, Flutters!" Spike called. "I got a med kit! It's got everything we need!"

"Okay, wait there, and don't move!" Fluttershy called back. "I'm gonna make my way around to the other end of chopper, and I'll catch you there!"

Fluttershy started making her way to the other end of the chopper, and Spike was sitting in the chopper, clutching the med kit, repeating to himself over and over;

"I'm not letting you go. I'm not letting you go."

_(Flashback - Summer)_

Spike and Twilight stared in awe at the lights of the carousel. Spike hopped on, and Twilight started up the ride, jumping on herself the last minute. To the both of them, it was the most fun they've had in a long while. The ride slowed down to a stop after about three minutes.

"Okay, that was pretty cool." Spike giggled.

"Oh, you wanna know what else is cool?" Twilight reached in and pulled out a miniature book. She read:

_"What did the triangle say to the circle? You're so pointless."_

Spike gasped with a smile. "What is that?" he said. Twilight read again:

_"What did the cannibal get for showing up late at the party? A cold shoulder."_

"Fuck you. You found another pun-book?!" exclaimed Spike. Twilight handed Spike the book. "You know, you just might be my favorite friend again. Just saying."

"I know my boy. Just saying." Twilight giggled. "Oh, look. The photo booth's on. Spike, we're so doing that."

The two friends rushed over, and into the booth. Twilight started up the camera.

"Okay, first off, silly face. Pufferfish face!" said Twilight.

SNAP!

"Okay, now a scary face. Dinosaur!" said Spike.

SNAP!

"Okay, now an ugly face. Pig nose!" said Twilight.

SNAP!

"Okay, one more. Cool looking pose!" said Spike.

SNAP!

Spike pressed the button to print out the pictures, but the computer wasn't working. "What? Oh, come on." Spike complained. Twilight and Spike started hitting the walls around the computer, but the monitor and lights in the booth just sparked out. "Uh, what just happened?" said Spike.

"I think we just broke it." Twilight smirked. "Aw, well. Wanna keep exploring?"

"Hell, yeah." said Spike.

Spike and Twilight took the now working escalator, clearly enjoying it, and saw the lit-up sign that read:

RAJA'S ARCADE

"Oh, yeah. We're doing this. C'mon, Twilight." Spike ran into the arcade. He turned to see his favorite arcade game machine, titled 'Street Fighter', but the monitor was on the fritz. "Aw, man. I thought I was gonna play it there for a second." Spike whined.

"You still can." said Twilight. "Now, close your eyes. Put your hands here, and here. Now, I'll talk you through it. The character your'e playing is Ken Masters. Your opponent, Ken's rival, Ryu. The setting for this round in the game is in Japan."

Spike opened his eyes. "Am I supposed to picture this?" Spike asked, sarcastically.

"Eyes closed, remember?" said Twilight.

Spike closed his eyes again. Twilight talked Spike through the controls, with Spike following every word. For a moment, he could see the game as if the screen wasn't all static at all. Dodging, punching, and kicking, Spike was on the verge of winning. With only a quarter of health left, Spike pressed the buttons in a combo tactic, and finished the HP of his opponent, thus winning the round.

"Alright, Spike. You won on your first try." said Twilight. "Not bad for your first game."

Spike opened his eyes again. "It was alright." he shrugged. What he loved about having Twilight for a friend, was her imagination.

From next door, classic music was playing. "Oh, c'mon, Spike. We gotta check this out." Twilight awed.

"Twilight," Spike said. "I would love to do this all day, but I have get back. I don't have any strikes left at this place. We can pick up where we left off tomorrow."

Twilight frowned. "I can't." she said.

"What do you mean you can't?" asked Spike.

"They asked me to leave Boston." said Twilight. "I'm supposed to join another group in another city. I argued to stay here, but you know Gilda. Everything's not easy with her. Everything is just a test."

Spike was speechless for a second, then finally said, "Okay."

"That's it?" asked Twilight.

"Well, what else can I say?" said Spike.

"I dunno. I was expecting some friendly advice, maybe." said Twilight.

"Why did you even bring me here?" said Spike.

"I wanted to see you." said Twilight.

Spike remained speechless again, then said, "You want my advice? Go. Let's just say our goodbyes, and get it over with."

"I wanna check out this music, first." Twilight said, and walked away.

"Twi. Twilight!" Spike called. "Damn it." Spike chased after his friend. He found Twilight in the music department.

"Twi, are we just done talking about this?" asked Spike.

"I don't know. Are we?" Twilight retorted.

"Hey, you don't get to be pissed off at me. I'm pissed off at you." said Spike.

"For what?" Twilight turned to face Spike. "Asking you what you think?"

"When have you ever cared about what I think?" Spike retorted. "We were good. We better than good, but then you told me to fuck off, and then you up and vanished. This whole day- Do you even feel guilty? You want an out? I'm giving it to you."

"I'm supposed to be holed up on the other side of town." said Twilight. "I get caught as a Firefly, I'm toast. Guilt didn't make me cross a city full of soldiers, Spike. Yeah, I did some shit that I don't know how to take back, but I'm trying. By the way, those water guns you kept talking about," Twilight unzipped her backpack and threw it to the ground, and there were Spike's two water guns. "There. I nearly got shot for these. Surprise."

Now, it was Spike's turn to feel guilty. This just proved that Twilight was a great friend, and he was being a total jerk about it. Spike picked up the water guns, and handed one to Twilight. "Okay. First, I'm gonna drench you. Then, we'll talk." he said.

Twilight smirked. "Your'e about to get soaked."

Spike smirked back. "Let's see what you got, Firefly girl."

"Okay, you count to five. I go hide, and you try to find me." said Twilight.

"Alright, ready?" Spike covered his eyes with his arm. "One. Two. Five!" Spike skipped three and four on comedic purpose. He removed his arm, and searched for Twilight. It didn't take him long to find her, and sneak attack her from behind a display table.

"Oh, rock on!" Spike raised his arms in triumph. "What was that? Someone should remove that dog tag of yours."

"Wow. Now, that's just mean." Twilight joked. "Uh-uh. That's it. We're going again."

"Twi, I would love to do this all day, but the sun's coming up. It's already morning. I really need to get back." said Spike.

"Alright. Can I at least walk you home?" asked Twilight.

"Sure. Let's get your backpack." said Spike. "Hey, I said it like an ass, but I meant it. You should go. This is something you wanted for forever, so who am I to stop you?"

"The one person that can." said Twilight.

"No, please. Don't go. I'll be so miserable without you." Spike said in a mocking tone. Both Spike and Twilight giggled. "I'll be fine. You'll be fine, and we'll both see each other again."

As Twilight got her backpack, she handed her water-gun to Spike. "Keep them. They're not gonna do me any good." she said. "Say, you still carry that walkman around with you?"

"Always." said Spike. "It's got that tape you gave me."

"You really will be miserable without me." Twilight smirked. "Let me see it."

Spike handed her the tape, and she plugged it into a stereo. "We'll play one song, then we'll go, okay?" said Twilight.

The song, 'I Got You Babe' the Etta James version, was playing out loud. Spike and Twilight started dancing. Twilight noticed Spike stopped dancing. "Hey, you okay?" she asked.

"Don't go." Spike pleaded. He was happy for Twilight to be a Firefly, but he didn't want to see his best friend go, either.

Twilight saw what he meant, and tore off her dog tag. Spike took this moment to kiss her on the cheek.

"Sorry." said Spike.

"For what?" Twilight grinned.

"So, what'll we do?" asked Spike.

"I dunno. But, I don't think that Gilda will-" Twilight stopped as she and Spike turned to hear a growl from behind them. Infected!

"Twilight!" Spike cried. The runner turned to the duo. Twilight pulled out her pistol and fired...

_(Present day - Autumn)_

"Spike! Spike!"

Spike snapped out of his flashback, as he turned to see Fluttershy calling out from the outer right of the helicopter.

"Sora!"

Spike remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He put the med-kit into his pack, and leaped out the right end of the chopper, and onto the snow bank, where Fluttershy was standing. Fluttershy helped Spike to his feet. The duo hurried back to the main entrance of the mall, where the group's hideout was. Fluttershy and Spike quickly took cover, from up top, they saw bandits trying to open the garage door.

"Flutters, I got an idea. Look, over there." Spike pointed to the right. In another store, there was a pack of clickers.

Fluttershy knew what Spike's plan was. She picked up a brick in one hand, and a bottle in another. She both threw the objects, the bottle to the bandit's side, and the brick to the clicker's side. The two sides met. They both lost focus of their main objective, and fought one another. Fluttershy and Spike watched at the violent scene in front of them. The infected and bandits fought brutally, until not one of them was standing.

Fluttershy and Spike hurried down the steps and towards the garage door. "You better be alive, Sora." Fluttershy whispered. She unlocked and opened the door, half-way. "Girls, it's us!" Fluttershy called to Rarity and the girls. The duo walked in, and Spike slammed the door behind him...

_(Flashback - Summer)_

Spike and Twilight slammed the double doors behind them. "Quick! The scaffolding on the roof. That's our way out!" said Twilight.

The duo ran up to the roof of the mall, with screams of infected right behind them. Twilight climbed the ladder to the scaffolding. Spike climbed the ladder, but he lost his balance, and fell.

"Spike!" Twilight cried. A runner pounced onto Spike! Twilight jumped down, and shot the runner in the head. Another runner charged at Twilight, and knocked her down!

"Twilight!" cried Spike. Spike stabbed the female equine runner in the throat. "Okay, I think we're in the clear, now." Spike looked behind him to be sure.

"Spike, your shoulder." Spike heard Twilight say. Spike looked at his right shoulder. There was a bite mark on it. "No. No, no, no, no." Spike tried brushing it off, thinking it wasn't real, but it was, to his horror. Twilight lifted her left arm. There was a bite mark there, too.

_(Present day - Autumn)_

Sora's breathing was raspy, due to the pain. Spike held the needle with the antibiotics. Fluttershy held the needle for the stitches.

"You ever done this before, Mom?" Scootaloo asked Fluttershy.

"I'm kind of an expert-ish." said Fluttershy.

"Very comforting." said Scootaloo, sarcastically.

"We just gotta stay calm. Stay calm. Ready, Spike?" said Fluttershy.

"Yeah." Spike held the hand with the needle that was shaking nervously. He took a deep breath...

_(Flashback -_ _Summer)_

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Spike was smashing at pots, and swearing in anger. He threw the crowbar away, and broke down next to his silent friend, Twilight.

"There's more stuff over there you can break." Twilight said, solemnly.

A few alligator tears escaped Spike's eyes. "What are we gonna do?" he sobbed.

"The way I see it we got two options." Twilight held up her gun. "One, we take the easy way out. It's quick and painless." she dropped her gun to the floor. "I was never a fan of option one. Two, we fight."

Spike wiped away his tears. "Fight for what?" he asked. "We're gonna turn into one of those things."

"There are a million ways we could've died today," said Twilight. "And there are a million ways we could die before tomorrow. But, we fight. For every moment we get to spend with each other. Whether it's two minutes, or two days, we don't give that up. I don't want to give that up. My vote, let's just wait it out. Y'know, we can be all poetic, and just lose our minds together."

"Is there an option three?" asked Spike.

"Sorry." Twilight said. "C'mon. Let's get out of here."

_(Present day - Autumn)_

The group fastened Sora in a blanket, and onto a medical sled. Rarity rode on her chocobo, Leah, Fluttershy and Scootaloo rode on their chocobo, Mia, and Sweetie Belle chose to ride with Spike on Cedric, who had Sora's sled tied to his saddle.

"Belle, I love you. You know that, right?" Spike asked Sweetie Belle.

"I love you, too." Sweetie Belle kissed Spike on the cheek. "We all look out for one another. That's how it should be."

Spike nodded. Ever since he lost Twilight, he always kept thinking about those last, encouraging words she said to him. He would hold true to them. "C'mon, guys. Let's get out of here." he said. The group rode away, far from any infected and bandits still lingering there. For Spike, farther away from the memories of his best friend...

**Whew! Finally done with this chapter. I decided to replace the game Riley and Ellie play in the game with 'Street Fighter' to make it more realistic. Leah, Mia, and Precious are OC names for Rarity, Fluttershy, and Terra's chocobos, with Precious replacing Princess, Winston's horse, in the game. That's all for the Autumn chapter of the story, next will be the Winter part of the story. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please comment. Thanks. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. (Some editing on this chapter.)**


	11. Chapter 9: Xehanort's Town

**Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter for you. This one might be a little longer like the last one, maybe. Please comment. By the way, hope you like the little Spike X Sweetie Belle pairing in this fanfic. Please comment. Thanks.**

Winter: Outskirts of Silver Lake

It was a quiet morning in the woods, covered by a blanket of snow. A little white rabbit popped out of a burrow, and dug through the snow, looking for food. The quiet bliss was interrupted when an arrow pierced right through the rabbit's heart so fast, it never saw it coming! The one who shot that arrow was none other than Sweetie Belle. She retrieved her arrow, and tied the dead rabbit to her chocobo, Leah. Her friends, Scootaloo and Spike, were on their chocobos, Cedric and Mia.

"This won't last us very long, guys." said Sweetie Belle.

"Belle, behind you." Spike whispered.

Sweetie Belle turned to see a large buck blissfully grazing right past them. The kids tied their chocobo's reins to the branches of a nearby tree.

"You guys will just startle it." Scootaloo said to the chocobos.

"Alright, Belle. You take the lead." said Spike.

The kids followed Sweetie Belle, being the one with the bow, thus adding extra stealth, up to a nearby hill, where they got a bird's-eye view of the deer below them. Sweetie Belle aimed carefully, then fired right between the neck and shoulder. The stag got startled, and bolted off.

"Good shot, Belle." whispered Scootaloo.

"Thanks. Let's go, before we lose him." whispered Sweetie Belle.

The trio ran to where the spot the deer stood, turning to the direction the buck ran off, noticing a trail of blood in the snow. The kids followed the trail all the way to an abandoned mill, where the stag lay, collapsed dead from the loss of blood. Sweetie Belle was about to retrieve her arrow, when something snapped a twig in the bushes. Spike pulled out his hunter's rifle.

"Who's there?! Come out!" Spike called.

From the bushes stepped out two men, wearing black coats. One was an old, bald man with a small beard, and carrying a hunter's rifle, while the other man was younger, with blue hair.

"Hello. We don't mean any trouble. We just want to talk." said the older man.

Sweetie Belle quickly swiped her arrow, and aimed it at the two men. "Any sudden moves, and I'll put one right between your eyes. Ditto for buddy-boy over there." she warned. "What do you want?"

"My name's Xehanort. This is my right-hand, Ienzo." the older man introduced themselves. "We're from a larger group. Women, children. We're all very hungry."

"So are we. Women and children. All very hungry too." Spike lied.

"Maybe we could trade you for some of that meat, there." said Xehanort. "What do you need? Weapons? Ammo? Clothes?"

"Medicine!" blurted Scootaloo. "You guys have any antibiotics? We're all out."

"We do. Back at our camp." said Xehanort. "Your'e welcome to join us-"

"We're not following you anywhere." Spike warned at gunpoint. "Buddy-boy can go get it, and if he comes back with what we need, the deer's all yours. Anyone else show's up,"

"You put one right between my eyes." finished Xehanort.

"That's right." said Sweetie Belle.

Xehanort turned to Ienzo. "Two bottles of penicillin, and a syringe. Make it fast." he said. Ienzo looked hesitant. "Go on, don't make me repeat myself." said Xehanort. Ienzo left after that.

With one man gone, there was still the matter of the other, to the kids. "Give my friend here your rifle." Spike pointed to Scootaloo.

"Of course." Xehanort said, understandingly. He handed Scootaloo the rifle, then backed up. "He's probably gonna be a while. You mind if we take some shelter from the cold?" he asked.

"Bring him with us." Spike pointed to the deer.

Xehanort pulled the deer into the mill, and started a small fire. "You know, you three shouldn't be out here all on your own." he said to the kids.

"We don't like company." said Spike.

"I see. What're your names?" asked Xehanort.

"Why?" Scootaloo asked back, suspiciously.

"Look, I know it's not easy to trust a couple of strangers." Xehanort said, with a polite grin. "But, whoever's hurt, you clearly care about them. I'm pretty sure it's gonna be just fine."

"We'll see." Scootaloo said, sadly.

The group was interrupted by an all-familiar sound. The sound of a clicker! The clicker barged through the open door as the group got to their knees in a defensive position. Spike accidentally stepped on the tarp covering the deer, making a crunching noise on the tarp, making the clicker turn in the kids' direction. It charged, only to be shot down Xehanort with a revolver.

"You had another gun?" asked Spike.

"Sorry about that." said Xehanort. The sound of more clickers came heading their direction. "I really like my rifle back." Xehanort asked Scootaloo.

"No, you have your pistol." said Scootaloo.

"I hope you know how to use that." said Xehanort.

"I had some practice from my friend here." Scootaloo mentioned to Spike.

Xehanort slammed the door, and blocked it with a large shelf. "Now, no matter what, we have to keep them out." said Xehanort.

The clickers began to break through the windows. Spike and Xehanort covered the left, while Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle covered the right. For each shot, though, more kept coming.

"Find something to block the windows!" said Xehanort. The group grabbed more shelves, and blocked the windows. One clicker somehow squeezed through and grabbed Spike by the hood of his coat! Xehanort, though, blasted the clicker in the face, freeing Spike.

"Screw it! We gotta get out of here!" said Xehanort.

The group ran to the upper floor of the mill, hoping to find a way out. Their luck just got worse as they hit a dead-end room with bodies scattered across the floor.

"Oh, lord. I've been looking for these boys." Xehanort gasped.

There was a large clanking sound from the roof, and out dropped a bloater!

"Bloater!" cried Spike. The group rushed up to higher ground onto a observation platform as the bloater limped in their direction, with a few runners behind it.

"You guys get those runners! Leave the bloater to me!" said Spike. He pulled out two molotovs. He threw one at the bloater, setting it on fire, then threw the next one, finishing it off. By then, the runners were already down.

"Hey, kids. I think we got them all." said Xehanort, noticing how quiet it became all of a sudden.

"Let's check outside." said Spike. The group walked to a bridge, and looked out the windows, with no trace of any infected for a quarter of a mile.

"Well, what'd I tell you? No infected." grinned Xehanort. "Now, let's head back, and check on that buck of ours."

The group returned to the spot where they hid the buck, it was untouched.

"I say, you kids handled yourselves pretty nice back there. I say we make a good team." said Xehanort.

"We got lucky." said Sweetie Belle.

"Lucky? No, there's no such thing as luck." said Xehanort. "No, see I believe that everything happens for a reason."

"Sure." Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I do, and I can prove it, too." said Xehanort. "Now, this winter has been especially cruel. A while back, I sent a group of men to a nearby town to look for food. Only a few came back. They said that the others had been slaughtered by not just infected, but a crazy group of people." Xehanort chuckled. "Get this. This group consisted of a man, two women," He stopped to point at the kids. "And three kids, too."

The kids had shocked looks on their faces. "You see?" said Xehanort. "Everything happens for a reason."

Spike stood defensively in front of the girls, and fixed his gun at Xehanort.

"Now, don't get upset." Xehanort said, calmly. "It's not your fault. Your'e just kids. Ienzo, lower the gun."

The kids turned to see Ienzo, holding a pistol. "No way, Xehanort." he said. "I'm not letting them go."

"I said lower the gun." said Xehanort. Ienzo did as he was told. "Now give them the medicine." said Xehanort.

Ienzo tossed a small sack to Spike. "The others won't be too happy about this." Ienzo said to Xehanort.

"Well, that's not your concern." said Xehanort.

Spike took the girls out the door, keeping his gun fixed at Ienzo, as he moved out of the way.

"You won't survive out there for long." said Xehanort. "I can protect you."

"No thanks." Spike sneered, and the kids ran off.

The kids ran as fast as they could, only looking back once to make sure they weren't being followed. They didn't stop running until they got back to the chocobos. They hopped on, and rode fast, not looking back.

...

It was dusk when the kids made it to the house their group was hiding. They led their chocobos into the garage, and slammed the door. They headed down to the basement.

"Mom!" Scootaloo called.

"There you kids are." Fluttershy sighed in relief. "Where were you? I was getting worried."

"We got held up." said Spike. "We only managed to get a little bit of food. But, we did get this." Spike held out the bag of medicine.

"Where did you get that?" asked Rarity.

"We had to trade the buck we caught for the antibiotics." said Sweetie Belle. "At least it'll help Sora. How is he?"

The group turned to see Sora on a mattress, breathing raspy because of the cold. "He's hanging in there." said Rarity.

Fluttershy took the bag, then opened his coat to reveal the wound they stitched up. Fluttershy injected the needle with the antibiotics near Sora's stitch. Sora began to pant, heavily.

"Sorry." Fluttershy said. She checked his forehead. "Your'e gonna make it, Texas." she said to Sora. She turned to face the group. "Let's get some sleep. We'll see how he is in the morning." she said.

The group lied on their own mattresses, and tried to catch a good wink of sleep.

...

It was morning. Spike woke up to the sound of voices coming from outside. He pulled back the hung-up shirt that acted like curtains, and peered out the window to see a group of men, led by Ienzo!

Spike quietly shook Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle awake. "Girls, those guys tracked us." he whispered.

"Oh, fuck." whispered Scootaloo.

"We gotta draw them away from here." whispered Spike. The kids grabbed their gear, and snuck up the stairs. "We'll come back for you, guys." Spike whispered to the sleeping adults.

The kids led their chocobos outside, closed the garage door gently, and rode out as silent as a chocobo could. They could hear Ienzo arguing with one of his men, hoping they wouldn't spot them yet.

"You even sure they're here?" The kids overheard the man Ienzo was talking to.

"There's chocobo tracks up and down the street. They're here." said Ienzo.

Suddenly, a male equine grabbed Spike. "Hey, I got 'em!" called the equine. Sweetie Belle brought out a knife, and stabbed the guy in the throat before he could shout out more. Too late.

"There they are. Shoot 'em!" shouted Ienzo.

"But, Xehanort said-"

"Fuck Xehanort! Shoot 'em, now!" Ienzo stopped his henchman's sentence, and gave his order.

The kids rode off like the wind. There were scavengers all over, humans and equines alike.

"What do they want with us?" said Sweetie Belle.

If these guys wanted a fight, then they would give them one.

"Come and get us, you motherfuckers!" challenged Scootaloo.

"Shoot the chocobos! Shoot the damn chocobos!" cried one of the men.

Snipers shot down all three chocobos, and the kids tumbled down the hill!

The kids got back up, and saw what remained of their beloved chocobos, but they had little time to mourn. They took cover behind rocks as Ienzo looked over the ledge of the hill.

"They fell down the hill, somewhere. I don't see them, though." said Ienzo. "Go around, and cut them off at the lodge!"

When the coast looked clear, the kids ran straight to the lake. They looked to their right to see the resort, with the sign:

WHITEFISH LAKE RESORT

"We can ditch them through there, then we can circle back, and get back to the adults." Spike instructed.

The kids took cover into the resort, just as the scavengers began to scan through the front porch. The kids stayed away from the windows, and snuck to the back entrance, where the trail back to their hiding place was. Suddenly, someone knocked them out-cold with what felt like a baseball bat. Spike managed to catch a glimpse at who it was before he zoned out. Xehanort.

...

The kids regained consciousness, to find themselves in a cage. From behind the cage, they saw Ienzo, chopping up meat on a table, and sliding the pieces into a bucket. It wasn't any meat. It was the hands and feet of an equine!

Sweetie Belle silently gasped.

Ienzo turned to see the kids awake, and gave a nasty grin, before leaving.

"They're cannibals!" Spike muttered, in horror. He tried to tug at the door of the cage, when Xehanort walked in with trays of food.

"Here. You should eat. You've been out for quite some time." said Xehanort, as he slid the trays underneath the door.

The kids looked at it with horror and suspicion. "What is it?" Scootaloo asked.

"It's deer meat." said Xehanort.

"With some human or furry helping on the side?" Scootaloo asked, again.

"No, no. I promise. It's the deer meat." said Xehanort.

"You're all fucking animals." Sweetie Belle sneered, as the kids sat to eat.

"That's awfully quick to judgement. Considering you and your friends killed how many men?" said Xehanort.

"They didn't give us much of a choice." said Scootaloo.

"And you think we have a choice?" said Xehanort. "You kill to survive. Is that right?"

"So, now what?" asked Spike. "You gonna chop us up into little, tiny pieces?"

"I'd rather not." said Xehanort. "Please, tell me your names."

The kids threw their trays back in disgust. "Your'e so full of shit." said Spike, as the kids stood up.

"On the contrary," said Xehanort. "I've been quite honest with you. Now, I think it's your'e turn. It's the only way to I can be able to convince the others."

"Convince them of what?" asked Scootaloo.

"That you can come around." said Xehanort. "You have heart. Your'e loyal, and your'e special." Xehanort laid his hand on Scootaloo's through the bars, in a gentle manner.

Scootaloo felt touched by this. Not. She snapped Xehanort's finger, and he yelped in pain. Scootaloo pulled Xehanort's arm through the cage, so Spike could get close to the keys. But, Xehanort pulled his arm free by pulling back on Scootaloo's grip, making Scootaloo smack into the bars of the cage. Scootaloo fell, and Spike and Sweetie Belle helped their friend up.

"You stupid kids!" snarled Xehanort. "Your'e making it very difficult to keep you alive. What am I supposed to tell the others now?"

"Scootaloo." said Scootaloo.

"What?" asked Xehanort.

Spike spoke for all three of them. "Tell them that Spike, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle are the names of the kids that all planned on breaking your fucking finger!"

"How did you put it?" asked Xehanort. "Little, tiny pieces. See you in the morning, kids."

...

Sora shot up awake. Fluttershy and Rarity rushed to his side.

"Sora! Glad to see your'e awake, Texas." smiled Fluttershy.

"Where are the kids?" Sora groaned.

"We went looking for them, but we couldn't find them. They must've ran off somewhere." said Rarity.

"Well, c'mon. Let's go find them." said Sora, standing up.

"You sure it's a good idea for you to come?" asked Fluttershy.

"I'll be alright. Just a little sore on this spot." Sora tapped on his side.

The trio walked out onto the balcony of the house.

"Spike! Scoots! Belle!" Sora cried out. He walked down the steps, when a cannibal ambushed him, and had him in a headlock! Another cannibal appeared around the corner with a knife. Fluttershy and Rarity quickly threw bricks at the attackers. Sora struggled free, and kicked the knife out of the second cannibal's hand.

"Grab his buddy! We're taking them in." Sora told the girls. Fluttershy and Rarity grabbed the first cannibal by the hand, and Sora grabbed the second by the back of his coat. They brought them into the house, and tied them up.

Fluttershy made a punching bag out of the second cannibal, then joined her friends to interrogate the first one. "Now, where are our kids?!" she snapped.

"What kids? I don't know no kids." the cannibal lied. Sora stabbed the cannibal's knee with a knife, making him scream in pain.

"Answer the lady, or I'll pop your knee off." Sora said, in a dangerously calm tone. "Where are our kids? Are they alive?"

The cannibal nodded. "They're still alive. They're Xehanort's newest pets." he whined.

"Where?" Sora said, then stabbed the cannibal's other knee. The cannibal screamed again.

"In the town. In the town." the cannibal pleaded.

Sora stuck the hilt of the bloody knife in the cannibal's mouth, and Fluttershy held up a map. "Your'e gonna mark it on the map, and it better be the same spot your buddy points, too. Mark it." She said.

The cannibal marked the map, and spat out the knife. "It's right there. You can ask him. I'm not lying." pleaded the cannibal.

Fluttershy picked up the knife, and stabbed the cannibal in the throat. "That's for you guys laying a finger on them." She whispered, harshly.

"Hey, fuck you, bitch. He told you what you wanted." snarled the second cannibal. "I'm not telling you shit."

"That's alright. We believe him." said Rarity. She aimed her gun, and open fired.

...

"Wakey-Wakey."

Ienzo grabbed Spike, while he and the girls were still sleeping. The kids shot up awake, as Spike ended up in Xehanort's clutches, and Ienzo slammed the cage door, leaving the girls to watch helplessly. Spike bit Xehanort's hand. Xehanort grunted in pain, but swatted out of Spike's grip. The two men held the dragon boy on the table.

"I warned you." Xehanort snarled, as he lifted up the butcher knife.

Spike could only think of one way out of this.

"I'M INFECTED! I'M INFECTED!" he shouted.

Xehanort stopped what he was about to do. "What?" he said, disbelievingly.

"Yeah, and I bit you. That means you are, too." Spike lied. "Look. Pull down my collar on my right shoulder. Look at it!"

"I'll play along." said Xehanort, and he set down his knife. He pulled down Spike's shirt collar under his jacket, and saw the now fading bite mark. But, it was still there for Spike to use his ruse.

"What was that you said?" Spike grinned, triumphantly. "Everything happens for a reason, right?"

"What the hell is that?" Ienzo pointed to the mark in horror.

"He would've turned by now. It can't be real." said Xehanort.

"Looks pretty fucking real to me." said Ienzo.

Spike took this moment as he tore his hand out of Ienzo's grip, grabbed the knife, and stabbed Ienzo in the neck. Spike rolled off the table, and pushed the table to send Xehanort flying backwards onto the floor, making him drop his keys. Scootaloo grabbed the keys, and unlocked the cage door. Spike found his switchblade on a counter, and he and the girls ran into a storage room, and out the first floor window, just as Xehanort was getting back up.

The kids struggled through the blizzard rolling outside, jumping in and out of various buildings to avoid the cannibals, until they walked into the back door of a restaurant, located just at the end of the town.

The kids rushed to the main entrance, only for Xehanort to burst through! The kids jumped back, knocking over a table with candles and lanterns.

"Your'e easy to track." Xehanort sneered, and pointed his gun. However, he turned to notice the flames had spread up the wooden supports of the roof. He turned back to see the kids were gone.

"That's alright. There's no other way out." Xehanort called to wherever the kids were hiding, and locked the door behind him. "You want out? You'll have to come get these keys."

"Alright, girls. Go hide in the kitchen. I'll go flank this guy, and get those keys. I'll be fine." Spike whispered.

As soon as the girls were in the kitchen, Spike turned his attention back to Xehanort, knife in hand.

"Y'know, you keep surprising me, Spike. I know your'e NOT infected." called Xehanort. "'Cause, no one infected fights this hard to stay alive. For a second there, you almost shook my faith. But, only for a second."

Spike waited for Xehanort to walk past his hiding place, then stabbed him in the back of the shoulder. Xehanort turned, and aimed. Spike jumped out of the way, and behind another booth, as Xehanort fired his gun empty of all the little ammo he had left.

"That was good, boy. Real good." Xehanort dropped his empty gun, and unsheathed a longsword.

Spike crept around the booth in circles to avoid Xehanort spotting him heading his way.

"Oh, Spike. So sorry about your chocobos." Xehanort called again. "Don't worry. My boys will make sure no part of them will go to waste."

Spike snarled, and jumped from his hiding spot, and stabbed Xehanort in the side. Xehanort turned, and swung his sword, but Spike jumped out of the way, and dived behind another booth.

"Run, little rabbit. Run." Xehanort snarled.

The game of circling around the booth continued. But this time, Spike found a bottle, and threw it to Xehanort's right. Xehanort turned to inspect the noise, that way Spike wouldn't have to worry about him retracing his steps, backwards.

"Oh, another thing, Spike. I really wished you hadn't killed Ienzo." Xehanort called one more time. "He was a good kid, just doing his job."

Spike jumped onto Xehanort, and stabbed him between his shoulder and chest. Both of them fell down onto the floor, knocked out-cold.

...

Two guards were at the top of the gate, standing next to burn barrels for light and warmth. They could hardly see anything in this blizzard. That's why they never saw the arrows flying at them, and impaling them in time.

"All clear, guys!" Fluttershy called back to Sora and Rarity.

The trio hurried through the gate, but heard someone ringing church bells, like an alarm. The trio took cover in a storage house, where they ironically found the kids' backpacks.

"C'mon, they can't be that far." said Sora, as they stuffed the backpacks into theirs.

They walked into the next room, only for the girls to scream when they saw hanged corpses of humans and equines, like butchered meat.

"Oh, shit. They're cannibals." Sora whispered in horror. The trio couldn't find any kids amongst the bodies, so they rushed outside to see a building burning down the block. "Oh, shit. Kids."

...

"Spike, get up." Sweetie Belle pleaded, as she and Scootaloo helped Spike to his feet.

Spike fluttered his eyes open. He spotted Xehanort's sword underneath a table across the hall. "Girls, we gotta get that sword." Spike muttered.

The girls helped Spike to the table, when out of nowhere, Xehanort kicked down all three kids!

"I knew you had heart." said Xehanort. "Y'know, it's okay to give up."

Scootaloo crawled to the sword, but Xehanort kicked her down, again. "Just not your style, huh?" he said. Xehanort pinned down Scootaloo. "You can try begging." he sneered.

"Fuck you." spat Scootaloo.

"Think you know me?" sneered Xehanort. "Well, let me tell you something. You don't know what I'm capable of."

Spike took this chance, and grabbed the sword. He swung, and sliced Xehanort on his arm, as he rolled off of Scootaloo in pain. Spike raised the sword.

"NO!" cried Xehanort.

Spike whacked Xehanort in the face with the sword. He poured all his rage into the sword, just hacking and whacking at the old man's face. Just hacking and whacking, hacking and whacking, over and over and over.

"Spike, stop!" Spike heard call his name, and pulled him to the side.

"No, don't touch us!" Spike cried, but when he turned, he saw Sora.

"Look, it's me. It's okay. It's just me." said Sora.

"Guys!" Sweetie Belle ran, and hugged her older sister, Rarity. "Oh, Sweetie. Your'e okay." whispered Rarity.

"They tried to..." Scootaloo weeped into her mother, Fluttershy's, arms. "It's okay, baby girl." Fluttershy comforted her daughter.

"Mom." Scootaloo sobbed.

"You alright too, little bro?" Sora asked Spike.

Spike felt touched, and hugged Sora for calling him little bro. "I knew you guys would come." said Spike.

The reunited group ran out of the burning restaurant, leaving behind what remained of the cruel Xehanort, killed with his own weapon...

**Well, that's it for this chapter. I gotta say, this was one of my favorite chapters to work on. This ends the winter part of the story. Up next, the final part of the story, the spring part of the story. Please comment. Hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. (Some editing on this chapter.)**


	12. Chapter 10: The Bus Depot

** Hey, guys. I'm back with another chapter. I'm close to the finish of this fanfic. Please comment, and this time, no flames please. Thank you. Hope you enjoy. Also, by this time, the group is back to wearing the same attire in the summer part of the story.**

Spring: Salt lake City, Utah

Spike and Sweetie Belle held hands, staring at the art that was the decorative highway wall, with one picture of a deer, bringing back the memory of the cruelest winter they ever experienced.

"Guys!" Sora's call snapped the two out of their trance. Spike turned, and called back, "What?"

"Didn't you hear me? Look." Sora pointed to the highway exit sign above them. "This exit will lead us to the hospital. It's where we get off. C'mon, kiddos."

The group marched through the barren, yet beautiful spring flora-covered highway littered with cars, RVs, and trucks.

"Does anyone feel that breeze?" It's so soothing." said Rarity. Fluttershy ran her fingers through her hair, feeling the breeze blow through.

"Y'know, on days like these, I just sit outside, and play away at my six-string." Sora grinned. "Y'know, once we're done with this Spike, I think I'll teach you and the girls how to play guitar. Bet you would like that, huh?"

Spike remained silent, still lost in thought. "Spike, I'm talking to you." Sora said.

Spike shook his head to clear his thought. "Huh? Oh, yeah. That'd be great." he grinned.

"You kids seem extra quiet today." said Fluttershy.

"Oh, sorry, Flutters." said Spike.

"No, I didn't mean anything by it." said Fluttershy.

The adults looked to each other. They knew the reason they were quiet, but knew better than to bring it up. It was a scary moment. Something they hoped the kids wouldn't ever experience again.

Scootaloo quickly changed the subject. "Hey, guys. Did I tell you about the dream I had about flying the other night?" she said.

"No, sweetie. What was that about?" Fluttershy asked her daughter.

"Well, it went like this." Scootaloo began. "We were all in this big plane, then people start to panic, because the plane feels like it's going down. I rush to the cockpit, but there are no pilots. I try to work the controls, but I obviously have no clue how to fly a plane. Then, just before we're about to crash, I wake up. Isn't that strange?"

"Well, you know, dreams are weird." reassured Fluttershy.

"Well, would you look at that?" Sora pointed to a notice sign. "Another city, another abandoned quarantine zone."

Rarity climbed onto the top of a bus, and checked her surroundings. "Guys, I see the hospital!" she called, and pointed to a building with a cross in front of the windows, above the big-lettered sign on the roof.

The group began to cut across their way through a former train station, climbing to a second floor, when Spike gasped, "Oh my God." Spike darted down the hallway, looking like he was trying to catch up to something.

"Spike, slow down! What is it?!" Sora called.

The group chased Spike down the hallway. They caught up to him, to find him staring at a giraffe, sticking it's long neck through a large gap in the wall, and eating leaves off the vines growing on the walls. The group was in awe. Sora was the first to carefully approach the giraffe, and started petting the giraffe's head. The kids walked over, and started to take turns petting the giraffe, with big grins on their faces. The giraffe turned it's head, and walked further down outside.

The group rushed out the nearby door, and onto the roof to see a whole herd of giraffes. The group just leaned on the side of the balcony, and gazed at the herd, grazing through the remains of a baseball field.

"How exactly did they get into Salt Lake City? Did they escape from a zoo?" said Scootaloo.

"Obviously." said Sweetie Belle.

"Well, is that everything you kids hoped for?" said Sora.

"It's got it's ups and downs, but man, you can't deny that view, though." said Spike.

The giraffe herd grazed into another part of the city, and the group worked their way down back into the streets, when Sora stopped at the bottom of the steps. "You know, we don't have to do this, Spike. There are always other ways to make a vaccine." he said.

"Well, what's the other option?" said Spike.

"Go back to Discord's and Celestia's. Y'know, be done with this whole damn thing." said Sora.

"Look, Sora. I know you mean well, but there's no halfway with this. After all we been through, everything we've done, it just can't be for nothing. Once we're done, we'll go where you want to. There gonna be there this time, I know it. The Fireflies." said Spike, as the group continued outside.

"Well, we're not leaving without you, so let's go wrap this up." said Sora.

By this time, the group had walked into a triage of medical tents, then started looking around for supplies.

"Well, this sure takes me back." said Sora, looking around the inside of the tent.

"How so?" asked Fluttershy.

"Well, I ended up in a triage just like this one, after everything went down. No matter where you looked, families and friends were just torn apart, left and right. The whole world seemed to have turned upside down in an instant." said Sora.

"Was that after you lost your sister?" said Sweetie Belle.

"Yes, it was." said Sora.

"I'm so sorry to hear what happened to her, Sora. Frankly, I can't imagine losing someone you love like that. Losing everything you know." Scootaloo said, solemnly.

"It's alright, Scoots." Sora sighed.

"Hey, Sora." said Spike. "I got something for you. Celestia showed it to me and the girls, and well... I stole it. But, I thought it's rightful place should be with you." Spike took a picture out of his backpack, and handed it to Sora.

Sora took the picture, and the group gathered around to see. It was the same picture Discord gave to him. Sora and Ushio, standing at the bus stop in the rain, waiting for Ushio's school bus, on her last day of school. Sora smiled sadly at the last good memory of his sister, and silently wiped away a tear.

"Thanks, Spike." said Sora. "I guess no matter how hard you try, I guess you can't escape your past. I think you guys would've liked her, and I know she would've liked all of you."

"I know we would've." said Fluttershy, placing a comforting hand on Sora's shoulder.

Sora put the picture in his pack, and the group continued on.

The group worked their way into the overpass, where it was partially flooded, and a home to infected!

"Aw, snap. We're almost there to the hospital at this point." muttered Fluttershy. "Okay, Sora. You take the lead, me and Rarity will cover the back. Kids, no matter what, you stay right on Sora's heels. Got it?"

The group nodded, and put the plan to motion. Sora lead the group to a walkway along the wall, crouched down and treading lightly in the foot-deep water, so the clickers and bloaters wouldn't hear. The group then sidled along the wall, not wanting to be too careful, and to avoid bumping into the bloaters that were standing closer to the walkway. The group clambered up the truck, dividing the rest of the highway. On the other end, the highway had transformed into a rushing river, littered with buses, floating in the current, but still held their place by their weight.

"Oh, man. How do we do this?" said Spike. Sora spotted a bus that looked like a bridge from the ledge they were standing on, and to the ledge on the other end of the river that led to the outside again.

"Alright, I'll go first. Girls, you watch the kids' backs while they cross." said Sora. He then jumped on the bus, and kept his balance as the bus began to wobble. "Alright, Spike! Let's go!" he called.

"Your'e gonna catch me?" Spike asked, nervously.

"You know it." said Sora. Spike jumped, and landed safely next to Sora. Then Scootaloo followed suit, and lastly Sweetie Belle. "See? You kids didn't need any help." Sora said, confidently.

"Let's just get the hell off this thing." Scootaloo said, nervously, as Fluttershy and Rarity jumped onto the bus.

However, the combined weight of the group suddenly started to cause the bus to lose it's balance! "Kids, go!" shouted Sora. The kids ran across to the ledge, but Sora fell through the bus doors, and into the half-flooded bus, with the force of the water pushing Sora to the back of the bus!

"Sora, hang on!" cried Fluttershy. The girls tried to break the glass window above Sora. The kids jumped back on, and helped break the window. Sora covered his head as the glass shattered. Suddenly, the bus started to tip on edge!

"Guys! Get off the bus before-" Sora never got to finish his sentence, as the bus was completely submerged into the water!

The group got swept by the current! Sora and the girls regained their wits, as the kids were floating through the water, unconscious. The adults grabbed the kids, and swam to the surface, where the flow of the river stopped at an overpass exit.

The adults checked the kids. They weren't breathing. Sora and the girls quickly began CPR, pumping their stomaches, until the kids coughed out the water. Their eyelids fluttered open as they slowly gasped for breath, then fell unconscious again.

The adults picked up the kids in their arms, when someone behind them shouted, "Hands in the air!"

The adults turned to see two dragons in uniforms, bearing the Firefly symbol, and pointing guns.

"Please, we need help!" pleaded Sora. However, the only help he got was a hit to the head, with the butt of a rifle...

**So, that's where I'm gonna stop right there. Sorry if it's short than the last chapters, but this fanfic is near being finished. I own nothing. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please comment. No flames please. Thanks. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. ( some editing done on this chapter.)**


	13. Chapter 11: The Firefly Lab

**Hey, guys. This fanfic is nearing it's close. One more chapter after this one, and that'll be it. Please comment. Thanks. Hope you enjoy.**

Sora's eyes shot open. He looked around to find himself in a hospital bed. Fluttershy and Rarity were in beds on opposite sides, quickly regaining consciousness themselves. They looked to see a gryphon wearing a blue tank top, and sandy pants. Gilda. Behind her was the same uniformed dragon that knocked Sora out cold.

"Welcome to the Fireflies." said Gilda. "Sorry about the rough entry. Garble here didn't know who you were."

"The kids?" asked Sora.

"They're fine. They brought 'em back." said Gilda. Sora and the girls sighed in relief.

"You came all this way. How'd you do it?" Gilda asked.

"It was them. They fought like hell to get here. Maybe it was meant to be." Sora said matter-of-factly, sitting up.

"I lost most of my crew crossing the country. I pretty much lost everything." Gilda said, sitting up. "But, then you show up, and we find you just in time you save them. Maybe it was meant to be. By the way," Gilda pointed to Rarity. "Who's the new girl?"

Fluttershy and Rarity sat up, as Fluttershy got the formality out of the way. "This is Rarity. She and her sister, Sweetie Belle, plan on joining you." she said.

Gilda nodded in understanding.

"Take us to the kids, please?" asked Sora.

"We'll have someone send for the girls." said Gilda.

"And Spike?" said Sora.

"He's being prepped for surgery. You can't see him now." said Gilda.

"What do you mean surgery?" Sora asked, suspiciously.

"The doctors tell me that the cordyceps, the growth inside of his brain, has somehow mutated. It's why he's immune." said Gilda. "Once they remove it, they'll be able to reverse-engineer a vaccine." Gilda grinned with excitement. "A real vaccine."

"But, it grows all over the brain." said Sora. "If they remove it, it might end up killing Spike."

"Yes, I know." Gilda said, plainly.

Flutttershy covered her mouth in shock. Rarity gasped. Sora's eyes bulged. They didn't need it spelled out to know what Gilda had in mind.

"Find someone else." Sora snarled.

"There is no one else." said Gilda.

"Listen, you are gonna take us to-" Garble stopped Sora mid-sentcene by whacking him in the gut.

"Stop." Gilda ordered.

Sora kneeled down in pain, as the girls rushed to his side.

"Look, I get it. But, whatever it is you think you're going through right now, is nothing to what I've been through." said Gilda, sharply. "I've known Spike since he was born. I promised his parents I'd look after him."

"Then why are you letting this happen?" said Sora.

"Because this isn't about me. Nor even him." said Gilda.

"Please, Gilda. He's just a kid. There must be another way." Fluttershy pleaded.

"There is NO other choice here. Don't you get it?!" Gilda snarled.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that bullshit." said Sora. "To think I wanted to join you." Rarity spat.

"March them out of here. Have someone send for the girls for them, afterwards. If he tries anything, shoot him." Gilda ordered Garble. "Don't waste this gift, Sora." she said, then walked out the door.

"Get up." ordered Garble. He pointed his gun to the trio. "I said get up."

The girls helped Sora to his feet, and they walked out the room. They stopped in the hallway.

"Move." ordered Garble. "I said move."

"Which way?" asked Sora. Garble pointed his gun to their left.

The group walked, where they saw their backpacks on a counter. Sora stopped.

"What're you doing? Keep walking." said Garble. Sora wouldn't budge. "I said keep walk-"

Sora elbowed Garble's hand, making him drop his gun. Fluttershy and Rarity grabbed Garble by the arms, and pinned him to the wall. Sora held the gun below his waist.

"Where're the kids?" demanded Sora. He then shot Garble in the nuts, twice. "Where?!"

"Top floor. The far end." Garble gasped in pain. Sora shot him square in the forehead.

"Let's go, girls." Sora said, as the trio grabbed their backpacks and weapons attached.

From down the hallway, there were voices coming their way. The trio made a run to the opposite end, and sealed the double-doors behind them with a chair. The trio ran up the stairway to the third floor. They burst through the doors, and covered it with a loaded medical cart for precaution.

Sora ran to the window, and looked to the west end of the building. "That's gotta be where they are." Sora muttered.

"Sora. Come listen to this." Fluttershy called Sora over to hear a recording Fluttershy found on the counter next to her.

The recording went: _"It is April 28th. Gilda was right. The boy's condition is like nothing we have ever seen. The cause of his immunity is uncertain. As we've seen in all other cases, antigenic titers of the boy's cordyceps remain high in the serum and the cerebrospinal fluid. Blood samples taken from the patient rapidly grow cordyceps in fungal media in the lab. However, white blood cell lines, including percentages and absolute counts, are normal. There is also no elevation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and an X-ray of the brain shows no evidence of fungal-growth in the limbic regions, which would accompany the prodrome of aggression in infected patients. We must find a way to replicate this in the lab. We're about to hit a milestone in history equal to the discovery of penicillin. After years of walking in circles, we're about to come home, make a difference, and bring the human and furry races back into control of their own destiny. All of our sacrifices, and the hundreds of men and women who have bled for this moment, or worse, will not be in vain."_

"That's not all we found." said Rarity, and she held out another recorder. Gilda's recorder. She pressed the play button.

The recorder went: _"5:30 P.M. April 28th. Hey, Drake. Hey, Crystal. It's me, Gilda. I know we haven't talked in a while. I just got done speaking, more like yelling, at our head surgeon. Apparently, there's no way to extract the parasite in Spike's brain. Fancy way of saying we gotta kill the freaking kid. Now, they're asking for my go. It was like more of a formality. The tests just keep getting harder and harder, don't they? I'm just so tired. I'm exhausted, and I just want this to end. So be it. I gave them my approval. I want you two to know that I've kept my promise to you all these years. Despite all I was in charge of, I looked after him. This is our chance to save us. The last of us. This is what we hoped for. What you were hoping for. They asked me to kill the smugglers. I'm not about to kill the only people who could understand the weight of this choice. Maybe they can forgive me. Oh, I miss you Drake, Crystal. Your son will be with you soon."_

Sora took the recorder, and threw it in frustration. "No parent would've wanted this." he said. The girls nodded in agreement.

The trio ran down the hall as fast as they could. They turned around the corner to see a barricade made up of several Firefly soldiers, guarding the doorway to the emergency room. The trio dove for cover, and open fired. The gunshots and explosives ran out through the hospital floor, but the trio emerged, victoriously.

The trio rushed to the end of the hall, one door leading to the surgery room, and the other to the left led to a larger bed room.

"Go check if the girls are in there. I'll go get Spike." Sora said to Fluttershy and Rarity.

The girls ran into the door to the left, and Sora ran through the door to the right. Sora barged in to see several doctors with operating gowns, surrounding Spike, unconscious, on a operating bed.

"What're you doing in here?!" demanded the lead female nurse named Larene. Sora didn't say a word, and shot all three doctors with the gun he still had from Garble.

A fourth doctor ambushed Sora from behind a curtain with a knife, but Sora leaped out of the way, kicked down the doctor, and grabbed him hostage. Suddenly, Gilda barged through the back door, her gun fixed onto Sora. Sora fixed his gun onto Gilda.

"You can't save him!" Gilda said, just when Fluttershy and Rarity hurried to Sora's side with the unconscious Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in their arms.

"Even if you get him out of here, how long until he's torn apart by a pack of clickers? That is if he hasn't been murdered by bandits, first." said Gilda.

"That's not for you to decide." Sora replied.

"It's what Spike would want." said Gilda. "And you know it."

"What do you know about us?" Fluttershy retorted, angrily.

"Look," Gilda lowered her gun, and raised her hands. "You can still do the right thing here. He won't feel a thing."

Sora lowered his gun. Gilda walked up to take it from him, but Sora quickly raised it again, pulled the trigger, and blasted Gilda on the side. Sora blasted the captive doctors brains out next. Sora turned his gun back to Gilda on the floor.

"Wait! Let me go! Please." Gilda pleaded.

"You just come after us. After him." Sora shot Gilda square in the head, and threw the empty gun to the floor. Sora lifted Spike into his arms. "C'mon, little bro. We're getting you guys out of here." said Sora.

Sora and the girls, with the kids in tow, rushed out the back door, as Fireflies were hot on their trail. The trio ran down the hallway with every last bit of energy they had left. For Sora, this was deja vu. He imagined running that night with his little sister, Ushio, in his arms. His mind flowed back to the present, with Spike in his arms. He let something like this happen once, but he wasn't gonna let the same mistake happen again.

The trio made it to the elevator, and Sora slammed the door button. The doors closed just as the Fireflies fired their guns. Sora and the girls slumped in exhaust and relief. The elevator stopped at the hospital parking garage. The group rushed out of the elevator, and into the nearest van, wasting no time to drive out of there before the Fireflies came with reinforcements.

...

An hour later, the van with the group drove out to the outskirts of the city. Sora was in the driver's seat, Fluttershy was in the passenger seat, Spike was lying on the backseat, and Rarity was in the way back, with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in her arms. The kids stirred awake.

"What am I wearing?" Spike groggily asked, looking at the hospital gown he wore.

"Easy. The drugs are still wearing off." said Sora.

"What happened?" asked Scootaloo.

Sora took a deep breath. "We found the Fireflies. Turns out, there's a whole lot more like you, Spike. People who are immune. There's dozens actually. Didn't do a damn bit of good, neither. That's why... They've actually stopped looking for a cure. I'm taking us home. I'm sorry."

To Sora, that apology meant a lot more to apologize for...

**Well, that's all for this chapter, guys. I decided to use the alternate scene where Joel shot Marlene, and rescued Ellie in the surgery room in the game, because I figured, you know. So, only one chapter left, and then this fanfic will be done! I own nothing. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended. Please comment. Thanks. Stay tuned for more of this fanfic. (More editing on this chapter.)**


	14. Epilogue: Jackson

** Hey, guys. Finally, the final chapter to this fanfic is here. Just a quick thing or two, Larene, the female doctor in the last chapter, was an OC name for the human version of Larxene from "Kingdom Hearts". Also, when I write down furrys, you probably know what I mean by identifying the anthropomorphics in this fanfic. Well, please enjoy. Please comment, too. Thanks. **

Spike was gently caressing the bite mark on his shoulder. By now, the bite was almost completely gone, but the fungus-like bumps still remained. Spike let out a gentle sigh. After everything that happened, it was met with a fruitless ending result. Sweetie Belle was sitting next to Spike, as she held his hand, and gave him a loving kiss on the cheek to help him out of his blue mood.

Sora slammed the hood of the van. The battery had run out of juice.

"Well," said Sora. "Looks like we're walking."

The group left the van by the broken road cliff, and continued to Jackson on foot. Sora opened the wires on the fence apart as Fluttershy, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Spike crawled through the gap space. Fluttershy held the wires open so Sora could crawl through.

"Y'know, I don't think I told you kids this," Sora said as they marched through the woods. "But, I used to take Ushio on a hike like this once. I think the five of you would've been good friends."

"Yeah." Spike said, quietly.

"So, Spike." said Sweetie Belle. "I was thinking, once we got to Jackson, maybe you and I could go on a date?"

"I'd love that." Spike smiled.

"Would you look at that." said Sora. The group stopped to gaze at the town just below the hill.

The group walked down to the foot-deep river, crossed through the water, and climbed up the next hill that divided the river and the town.

"Hey, Sora. You got a second?" asked Spike.

"Sure. You girls go on ahead. We'll catch up." said Sora.

When the girls walked ahead, Spike tried to find the words to get off his chest.

"It's just," started Spike. "I was thinking about the last things Twilight said to me. When we both got bit, we didn't know what to do. So, she says, 'Let's just wait it out. Y'know, we can be all poetic, and just lose our minds together.' I feel like I'm still waiting for my turn."

"Spike, don't talk like that." said Sora.

"But, I feel like it's my fault my best friend is gone. Just like how I felt with Terra, and our chocobos." said Spike.

"Spike, none of that is on you." said Sora.

"No, you don't understand." said Spike.

"I struggled for a long time with surviving." said Sora. "But, no matter what, you keep finding something to fight for. Now, I know that's not what you want to hear right now, but what else can I say?"

"Nothing, just swear to me. Swear to me that everything that you said about the Fireflies is true." said Spike.

Sora took a calm, deep breath and said, "I swear."

Spike had a doubtful look. He could tell he was lying, but he knew Sora meant well, and whatever happened when he was unconscious, it must've been awful. Spike would find out the truth on his own later, but decided not to bring the matter up again for now, as all he said was;

"Okay."

...

Legend of the last of us

(Ending theme song - "Take us back" by Alela Diane)

**Well, guys. That's a wrap. After so long, this fanfic crossover is complete. I decided to include "Take us back" as a theme song for this fanfic, because it fit so well with "The Walking Dead" video game, it could also fit well with "The Last of Us" video game. I own nothing, including the song. All rights go to original owners. No copyright intended. Please comment. Keep a lookout for more fanfics I come up with. Thanks.**


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